Dulce et Decorum est
by SugarIsMyDrug
Summary: The true genius of a woman is her subtle flair in creating an illusion that you are the smart one.- Josh Stern... Artemis is a strong, wise woman. In Kouen's opinion, she fits every criteria to be by his side. But is that what she wants? To be the queen of war?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_**The true genius of a woman is her subtle flair in creating an illusion that you are the smart one. –Josh Stern**_

_For those of you who are reading this journal, my name is Artemis… just Artemis. About a year ago, I lived with a small peasant family on a farm located in Kou. There, I wrote many political and historic articles and poems. Unfortunately, my work wasn't widely accepted and I was imprisoned for it. Now, I am currently in a barred cellar like an animal in a zoo. Did I mention that I am a magician? They stripped me of my wand and all my works were taken. They probably burned them. The Kou guards think they're so smart. Ha! If I wanted to, I could have escaped a long time ago. These cellar locks aren't too hard to pick, but escaping wouldn't be wise. I wouldn't be able to step foot outside without a dart impaling me. Oh well, that's how it is. As of now, I am documenting my life and I start with this small paragraph._

The sound of metal plated feet and the spears hitting the ground penetrated Artemis's mind. She didn't let it get to her though. The soldiers were probably here to throw another person into jail. Prison life wasn't all bad. There were some very wise women who Artemis usually conversed with. When their conversations got too out of hand, the guards would hush and threaten them. Artemis's eye brow slowly rose up. Usually, when they were bringing people in, screams and shouts were heard. All Artemis heard, though, was talking. They stopped at the cellar near hers.

"This woman would be too old for the job," she could hear an unfamiliar male voice say. She didn't bother looking up. They probably brought in new soldiers. She had convinced the guards to get her a small desk and chair so that she could write. She often turned it away from the entrance of the cellar, so her back would be facing the soldiers. This made it easy for her to ignore their jeers and nasty comments. The soldiers then came to a halt in front of her area.

"Prince Kouen," one of the guards said, "I don't think this one is up for the job either."

Kouen looked at him, wanting a more elaborate explanation.

"She is a very stubborn one," he stuttered. Kouen motioned for him to open the cellar. Artemis continued to write, not even once looking behind her.

"You," Kouen said, not loud, but still had a demanding sound. When the young woman didn't turn around, the guard reached for his whip in anger.

"How dare you-

He was held back by Kouen. The guard looked up at the First Prince and then reluctantly calmed himself. Kouen then looked at the back of the blue haired woman's head. He took slow, deliberate steps toward her.

"Now why would the first Prince of Kou be visiting mere prisoners?" she asked, as if to taunt him. Kouen didn't take offence. He merely turned back around and motioned for the guard's attention.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"My name is my own," she replied, "I won't give it up." Despite being disrespectful, her answer was put quite eloquently. Normally, the people around him would stutter in his presence. He watched the blue haired woman continue to write.

"She will do," he didn't continue the conversation.

Artemis could only question his motives. What does he want with her? All the murmurs of the prisoners died down. Artemis's opposite cell neighbor looked at her. She was a woman who was in her thirties.

"I can't believe you did that," she said in shock.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Artemis fixed a few things in her cell. Tidiness was very attractive in her opnion.

"You talked back to the Prince!" she exclaimed as if the world was going to end.

"The Prince is but a mere man," Artemis spat, "He has to eat, sleep _and _use the toilet just like us."

"I'm surprised he didn't shout 'Off With Her Head!'" her cell neighbor dramatically said.

"What do you think they want me for?" Artemis then asked.

"I have no idea," the other woman shrugged, "But whatever it is, you had better keep your mouth shut and cooperate."

"If I see something wrong, I'm going to comment on it," Artemis rolled her eyes as she put her hair up. If it was one thing that annoyed her, it was her hair. She had very thick and long light blue hair. It was difficult to deal with without a comb.

"Alright Maggot!" a soldier came to a halt in front Artemis's cell. He opened it and forcefully pushed her out. She fell on the floor outside the cell.

"On your feet!" he shouted.

"I can hear you just fine. You don't have to shout," she gritted her teeth and grabbed her journal from the floor.

"No books!" he continued to shout and grabbed the book from her. She could think of a thousand things to say to this broad faced soldier, but she kept her mouth shut. The wise things to do were shut up and cooperate.

He blind folded her, for secrecy reasons and pushed her along. It was as if the walk would never end. Artemis put out her hands to steady herself. He then forcefully untied the blind fold as they came to a stop. The brightness of her surroundings made her squint. Transferring from a dark place to a light place was very uncomfortable. When her eyes adjusted, her gaze beheld a heft brown haired lady. Her stern eyes scrutinized Artemis. Artemis's loose cream pants turned brown by lack of washing it and her blue loose top had many stains.

"Is this the new girl?" the woman's voice was kind yet stern, despite her hard look.

"Yea," the soldier grunted and marched off.

"Come on," the heft woman grabbed her by the arm and led her away to God knows where.

"You need to wash up." Her voice was less stern.

"Where am I?" Artemis questioned.

"You're in the Kou palace," the woman answered as she ran a bath.

"Why?" Artemis's dark blue eyes searched for an answer.

"From now on, you'll be working as a maid," she answered.

"A maid huh," Artemis mused. She was not new to domestic work, but working for the rich wasn't her cup of tea.

"My name is Alma," the woman introduced herself. "You do remember how to bathe, am I right?"

"Of course I do," the blue haired woman rolled her eyes at the brazenness of the older woman. Alma just chuckled.

"Just joking, dear," she wiped a nonexistent tear from her face. "Are you going to tell me your name?"

"From what I deduced, I'm here to work, not make friends," Artemis began to strip and get in the bath.

"I am your superior," the woman bellowed, "I need to know what I should call you."

"Just call me Arty," she answered.

-;-

"Kouen," Koumei called on his brother, "I got the information about the prisoner."

Kouen looked at the file his brother placed on the table. He took it up and looked into it.

"It was pretty hard to find it," Koumei continued. "The woman refused to give a name."

Kouen continued to silently look through. He then closed the file and gave it back to Koumei.

Looking through the book that was confiscated from her gave him more information about the blue haired woman.

-;-

"Here's the list of daily chores and the schedule," Alma put Artemis to look at the long list. She was fresh and clean. All the dirt and grime was washed off and she was put in a yellow and white maid's robe. Her hair was cut a bit shorter and put into a neat, low bun. Alma looked at the younger woman's expression. Usually, new recruits would look horrified at the amount of work to be done, but Artemis just stood there.

"Alright," Artemis turned back around, "When do I start?"

"You're not the least bit troubled by this?" Alma questioned, eager to hear the young woman's response.

"Why would I be?" Artemis asked, "At least it's better than sitting in a dark cell, rotting away."

Alma smiled, for she was beginning to like the girl already. "The only place left is the Prince's study. The maids always leave it until he is away."

Alma took up a few dusting materials and handed it to the woman.

"The books would need organizing, as the Prince would take them out often," she advised. Can you read?"

"Yes," Artemis answered.

"Well then you should have no problem," Alma smiled brightly. This look contrasted the look she gave at the first meeting. Alma led the way.

"You need to know this place inside out," Alma said, "So start memorizing."

Artemis looked at the walls which were adorned with paintings of dragons and lions. She recognized a few of them by their designs. Some came from ancient ruins she had visited a few years ago. She could tell because most villages have signature paintings.

"Alma," a maid walked up and addressed the woman.

"Go ahead, dear," she said before turning her attention to the intruder, "You can go ahead and organize the books."

Artemis opened the door and walked in with the dusting supplies. The sigh that she had been stifling slipped from her lips. Looking at the library gave her goose bumps. There was so much to read! So many historic books were perched on the shelves. Running her hands along the pines of the encyclopedias, she smiled. Artemis took out one of the books called _Road to_ _the Kou Empire. _

"Road to the Kou Empire," she said out loud.

"Property of me," Kouen came up behind Artemis.

The woman let out a small squeal and turned around abruptly to look the stranger in the eyes. Crimson eyes clashed with blue eyes and they fought for dominance, neither of them letting up.

"I was sent to clean up," Artemis spoke first, her voice unexpectedly soft. Kouen observed her a bit more. Her blue eyes were unrelenting; her mouth was set in a straight line. Her face betrayed so many emotions unlike him.

"I was informed," he replied, looking at the book in her hand.

"You know how to read," this was more of a statement than a question. "You can borrow the book."

Artemis had to keep her tongue on lock. She recognized his voice as the same voice that talked to her. If she had known he was this handsome, she would have turned around any day. His red eyes studied her, his red hair pulled back into a little pony tail. His goatee, though unpopular, was good looking in her opinion. He looked like a demy god. Oh well, she knew better than to judge a person based on looks.

"Thanks" she simply answered and put the book in the holding basket. Her eyes then searched for any book that was out of place or in the wrong order.

"I already put the books in alphabetical order," he walked to his desk and sat.

"Gee, thanks," she muttered under her breath, still looking around to make sure what he said was true. Kouen silently watched her actions. She then opened the door to get the other cleaning supplies Alma had put outside. This time, Kouen's attention was turned to the work before him. The blue haired woman swept and mopped when the dusting was done. After her work, it was as if the place was sparkling. Looking about while putting a hand to her hip, she praised her work. There were smudges of dust on her cheeks.

She then happened to glance on Kouen's desk. There, in all its glory, was not only her journal, but all her works that were supposedly burned. The first prince of Kou looked at her, knowing full well where her line of sight went.

"Your opinions are rather radical," he locked his hands under his chin as he lethargically stared at her.

"My opinions are my own," Artemis turned her attention to picking up the cleaning supplies.

"What are you trying to do, Artemis?" he called her name for spite.

This didn't surprise her though. He had her journal, so he found out her name.

"So I see you've underhandedly figured out my name," she smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes. He didn't respond. He just pushed her belongings to the edge of the table for her to receive.

Artemis watched him warily.

"Are you serious?" she asked, eyeing her things. She then realized what she asked was quite stupid, for rumors had it that the first Prince wasn't the type to joke.

"What am I trying to do, you ask?" Artemis questioned. Kouen waited for the answer.

"I'm speaking out against war," she answered her own question with a sad smile. Kouen looked on, expression not changing. She, like everyone else had goals. If she thought she could stop war with a few words and articles, then she was sadly mistaken.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't believe I can stop war with my work," Artemis said, as if reading Kouen's mind, "I just write so that people out there would know of my opinions. Some would consider it and some won't."

A knock disturbed the current silence.

"Arty, are you-

Alma halted as she witnessed Lord Kouen looking at Artemis as she took the things from his desk. Kouen's attention then turned to Alma.

"Forgive me, Lord Kouen," she bowed, "I didn't know you would be back so soon. I'm sorry if Artemis inconvenienced you in anyway."

"I wasn't inconveniencing anyone," Artemis answered for herself, took everything up and left.

Silence enveloped the prince and he got back to work. The blue haired woman was definitely strange.

-;-

"You should hurry and get prepared for dinner," Alma said. "The maids have dinner at eight."

"Sure," Artemis replied.

"There are a few outfits in your closet," Alma informed, "Oh and before dinner, we usually take baths."

Unlike her first time in the bath house, it wasn't empty. A host of young women walked around the huge room, talking and giggling. All eyes were turned on Artemis as she strolled through the clutter.

"Okay everyone," a black haired woman stood on a stool. She was quite beautiful. Her hair was let down and flowed down to her back. Her green eyes were full of mischief. "Let's all have a seat."

All the women sat down in their towels. Artemis was the only one who stood which made her stick out like a sore thumb.

"You're new around here," the black haired woman said, walking towards her, "So you wouldn't know that we use this time to have a little fun." She circled around Artemis. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Artemis looked around the room. She wasn't frightened or intimidated.

"My name is Arty," she said and then took a seat.

"Thank you, Arty," the black haired woman smiled, "My name is Elise."

One by one, the various women shouted their names.

"I know this may be quite hard for you to remember, so don't hesitate to ask us to repeat," Elise said.

Artemis didn't respond to the woman. Her memory was quite good, so asking twice wouldn't be necessary. Artemis also ignored the underhand tactics the woman used in trying to make her look dumb.

"Alright ladies," she clapped her hands together to silence the small chit chat, "Let's play a round of truth or dare."

Everyone agreed. It was as if Elise was the leader. A brown haired girl, Asriel, as Artemis could recall, sat next to her.

"You could almost guess who the leader is," she said to Artemis. Looking at Asriel, she understood who the brown haired girl was talking about.

"No one is the leader of me," Artemis responded which caused Asriel to give a dark chuckle.

"You're quite brave," she said.

"It's not called bravery," Artemis stated, "It's called being smart."

"I'm beginning to like you, new girl," she smiled.

"The name's Arty," Artemis corrected.

"Gee, sorry," Asriel held up her hands and chuckled.

All the women sat in a circle and took turns performing Truth or Dare acts. The women squealed and laughed at the various performances. It was Elise's turn to be questioned.

"Truth or Dare?" asked one of the women.

"Truth," Elise answered with a knowing smile.

"Is it true that you and Prince Kouen slept together?" the woman asked in a hushed tone. At this question, all the talking died down and each woman waited for the answer. Elise paused for dramatic effect and suspense.

"It's true," she answered with a small smile. The women gasped, all except Artemis and Asriel.

"That's how she became the supposed leader," Asriel grunted.

"I don't see what significance that has," Artemis said.

"I choose Arty," Elise smiled. "Truth or Dare."

"Truth," Artemis answered.

"Since we're kind of on the topic," she continued to smile, "Have you ever slept with someone?"

Living the kind of life that she did, Artemis never had time to think about that, much less have a relationship with a man. The question embarrassed her slightly.

"No, I haven't," a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

The women murmured and some even gasped.

"You have never felt a man's touch before?" one of them asked.

"How old are you?" Elise asked.

"25," Artemis answered.

"Arty!" Alma shouted.

"Oh great the old lady is here," one of the women muttered. Everyone got up and dispersed.

"Arty, are you finished?' Alma closed in on the blue haired woman.

"No, the bath is too full," Artemis answered. Alma then looked over to Artemis's left.

"I see you've made a friend," she smiled at Asriel.

"Yes, I have," Artemis replied.

"Since the bath is full, why don't you two come over and take a bath by the older women's section," Alma suggested.

Artemis could see the difference between the older and younger women's section. The older women's side was much simpler and organized. The two women took a bath in peace.

At dinner, the revelations made at the truth or dare session women were gossiped about.

-;-

Judal walked along the halls. The maids were having dinner at this time, so none of them would be disturbing him. Artemis walked out of the dining hall for an early retirement to bed.

Unbeknownst to her, she opened the door and it hit the Oracle in his side.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," he snapped.

"I'm sorry," Artemis looked behind the door to see the damage she'd done, but all she met was the angry face of a weirdly dressed young man. He had medium long black hair and a segmented ponytail at the back.

"Judal!" an unfamiliar voice bombarded the situation. "Stop intimidating the maid!"

Turning around, Artemis's eyes landed on a pink haired girl.

"I'm sorry for his harsh actions," she apologized with a smile.

"You don't have to apologize to a stupid maid," Judal folded his arms.

"Judal take that back!" she defended the blue haired woman.

"It's okay," Artemis spoke up, "It's true. I am but a maid." Artemis guessed that the girl was of royalty.

"So the clutz has a bit of sense," Judal mocked.

"Hey I've never seen you before," Kougyokou interrupted Judal, "Are you the new maid?"

"Yes, I am," Artemis replied.

"You're very pretty," she complimented with a slight blush.

"Uhh thanks," Artemis didn't know what to say.

"Pretty?" Judal questioned, "Are you blind?"

The two started to bicker, but Artemis could tell that they were friends.

"I should head off now," she backed up slowly, "I've got maid things to take care of."

"Wait!" Kougyoko called after the blue haired woman. "What's your name?"

"Just call me Arty," Artemis walked off, leaving the two to bicker again, due to Judal calling her Old Hag.

Behind the doors of her small room, Artemis let out a sigh and slid to the floor. Today, many things had happened to her. She would have never thought that she would get out of that hell hole of a prison. She reached for her journal and pen and began documenting today's happenings. Artemis then reached for one of her articles that were previously confiscated. Was it really that bad to speak out against war? Why had Kouen allowed her to talk against it then?

All answers will come in time, and with that, she fell into a dreamless sleep on the floor.

-;-

"Everybody up!" Alma shouted as she walked along the halls of the maids' dorms. She banged a spoon against a pot as she went along. She then stopped at Artemis's door.

"Arty! Get up!" she shouted. Said woman opened the door, already in her maid's uniform. This surprised the older woman.

"I rise pretty early," Artemis answered before she was asked.

Alma only chuckled. Women like her only came around once in a while.

Breakfast was served to the royal family. It was quite difficult to serve for they didn't eat together unless it was a family celebratory feast. Artemis was put to serve Kouen his breakfast. Alma said that Kouen was more civil towards her and that is why she was appointed to bring the prince his breakfast and any other meals. This didn't bother Artemis so much. She just rolled the breakfast cart to his study. From what it looked like, he was quite fond of his study. She knocked before entering.

"Good morning," she greeted professionally. "Do you normally eat around your work?"

Kouen moved aside his documents to accommodate his breakfast.

"No," he simply replied.

Setting his breakfast on his desk, she could feel his eyes on her, scrutinizing her every move.

Putting down the last dish, she raised her eyes to meet his.

"When you're finished, you can ring me," she pointed at the bell. Her stomach then growled. She blushed and turned away quickly.

"Have breakfast with me," he said as she was about to open the door.

"I couldn't possibly do that," Artemis was still embarrassed.

"I am your superior," he said, "And this is an order."

Artemis's hand was still on the door knob.

"I couldn't possibly take your offer and the other maids, like myself, haven't eaten yet either," she explained, opened the door, and left. Kouen made no move to stop her. Many other women would have accepted the offer without a second thought, but she thought of the others. What an interesting woman.

Artemis waited outside the hall for Kouen to finish. These were the instructions given to her by Alma. The bell rang, signaling for her to return. She sucked in a breath of air before entering, and prayed her stomach would stop chattering. She calmly rolled the cart out and closed the door.

-;-


	2. Chapter 2

_**To jealousy, nothing is more frightful than laughter**__. - _Francois Sagan

Artemis was never an agent in being unfair. That was what she thought about all the way to the kitchen. As she entered, some of the girls watched her weirdly. She didn't mind though. Her eyes just searched for Asriel's. Finally settling her sight on her brown haired friend, she walked over to her. She was currently sharing out the maids' food.

"What jobs did they give you?" she asked, despite the line of waiting maids. The art of multitasking probably never occurred to her.

Shouts like 'What's the holdup' and 'Is she serious?' were heard. Asriel quickly got back to her work.

"I had to serve Prince Kouen," Artemis answered nonchalantly.

Asriel, who was peacefully serving food, almost choked on her spit when Artemis said this.

"Are you kidding?" she turned to her and whispered.

"I'm not," Artemis answered.

"That means if Elise found out, she'd be pissed she didn't get the job," Asriel resumed sharing the food, catching angry glares along the way.

"And that is supposed to trouble me because?" Artemis asked. She wasn't afraid of Elise and Elise had not given her any reason to be afraid either.

"Let's just say, she can make your life a living hell without so much as lifting a finger," Asriel muttered.

"You seem to know a lot. After this, care to tell me your experiences?" Artemis questioned.

"You catch on pretty quickly," Asriel chuckled and put a plate in front of Artemis. "Here," she said, "Let's go."

The two sat near the window of the kitchen.

"So, where do I start," Asriel said this in a sort of bitter manner, "Basically, I don't like Elise and she doesn't like me. Reason being is I was given the job of attending to Lord Kouen, just like you. A fight ensued… I was the victor and because I was the victor, she had something over my head. She made up this sob story that I broke her nose, which was partly true. After that, I lost my position and was given a lower one." She ended with a bitter laugh and pointed to the kitchen.

"Well," Artemis sighed, "That would matter to me if I cared."

"Ha, I'll believe that when I see how you handle Elise," Asriel played with her short, brown pony tail. "And speak of the devil." She then said as Elis walked in and sat by her regular group.

"She'll definitely live long," Artemis commented.

Artemis and Asriel sat and finished the rest of their meal. All along, Elise kept looking their way and it pissed Asriel off.

"You _do _notice she's looking at us," she gritted her teeth.

"She has the right to look just like everyone else. They _are _her eyes," Artemis replied.

"Gee, you're so pragmatic," Asriel said, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks," the blue haired woman replied with a small smile.

"The way I was using it, it wasn't a compliment," Asriel retorted and Artemis didn't respond.

Asriel's mood worsened as she saw Elise get up from her seat and walk towards their section.

"Now the devil has decided to grace us with her presence," she said, loud enough for Elise to hear.

Elise smiled at Asriel as if to annoy her and then turned to Artemis.

"So, Arty," she maintained her fake smile, "I hope you like your job."

"It was the only one available," Artemis replied, sticking the remnants of her food with her fork, "At least that's what Alma told me."

"How nice," she said, "but I would like to tell you a little something after work. You don't mind, do you?"

Artemis finished chewing before replying. "As a matter of fact, I do."

Elise's smile tightened.

"After work I volunteered to help Alma with a couple of Almanacs. Why don't you tell me what you want to tell me right here," she calmly suggested.

"Alright, have it your way." Elise lowered down to Artemis's ear. "Kouen and I have a thing and I really don't want a prison junkie messing that up."

Artemis's shoulders shook and Elise noticed that she was laughing. Her laughter became more prominent, yet it maintained its grace. This annoyed Elise to no end. She stood up straight and shook with rage. Artemis calmed down and wiped her face. She had the habit of crying when she had a good laugh.

"I can see you're getting a bit jealous and a bit of advice is to let it go," Artemis regained her proper composure. "Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius."

The black haired woman stood there and looked at Artemis for a while.

"Let's get going Asriel," Artemis stood and pushed her chair in. Everyone could see that Elise was the taller and more beautiful than Artemis, but Artemis was most likely the smarter one.

"So, what did she tell you?" Asriel asked when they were on duty. Both were given instructions to clean the royal lounging area.

"Nothing much. It's basically what you said," Artemis shrugged as she swept the carpets.

"I'm glad you have a level head," Asriel said, "I would have punched that bitch in her face; make it look better."

Artemis smiled at Asriel's prejudice.

"It's lunch time," Asriel then said, "You'd better head to Alma to get the updates on the Prince."

"I should," Artemis wrapped up the sweeping and headed out the door.

The blue haired woman walked towards the kitchen and Alma stood beside the cart.

"I hope you're doing your job well," she smiled and pushed the cart in Artemis's direction.

"I hope so too," Artemis commented. She remembered her brazen act of defiance to Prince Kouen's invite. She then wondered if he took it to heart. She wondered, also, if he would decide to confiscate her journals again. She knocked on his door and waited for permission to come.

* * *

><p>"Come in," he said loudly enough for her to hear.<p>

"Good afternoon," Artemis scanned his desk which was already clear. "I see you've cleared your desk this time."

Kouen watched her as she laid out the cuisines.

"I apologize for this morning," she said when she was finished. From a young age, Artemis was taught to admit and apologize even though it was hard to do. "And I hope you understand."

"I understand," he said and continued to look at her. His red hair was placed in the same style and he wore a light blue pin up shirt.

"I assume you're settling into your duties quite well," he said, unwrapping his knife and fork.

Artemis turned around and Kouen gave her a questioning look.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"U-um, well, I was taught that it's disrespectful to look at your superiors while they're eating," she blushed a little while she said this.

"Turn around," he said and she did. He noted her slight embarrassment.

"Now you have no reason to refuse my offer to eat with me," he gestured to a seat near him.

Artemis looked around; trying to come up with some smart way to get out of this situation, but nothing was coming. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she dragged the chair in front of his desk so she was facing him. Her table manners weren't atrocious and she thanked the heavens she knew how to use a knife and fork.

"You can have whatever you want," he said.

Artemis took out a small portion of the stake with her knife and fork and placed it into her plate. Also, she took a few vegetables and intended to take no more food.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Yes, I am not hungry," she answered.

Artemis was done in no time, and so was Kouen. He got up and helped her pack the plates on the cart.

"Thank you, Sir," she said before wheeling the cart to the door. She then turned around. "Why did you insist I eat with you? Is it because it is believed by the early people that food fosters friendship?"

Kouen blinked slowly before answering, but before he could answer, Artemis spoke again. "Why would you want to become friends with me?"

"You are very knowledgeable woman," he started. "I am attempting to understand your ideals. With a combination of ideas, a country will prosper."

"That's exactly why I asked, you see, nothing can be done around here without an ulterior motive," Artemis leaned against the door.

"I see," he said. "We should sit and discuss it."

"I'm a servant. I'm quite busy," she said.

"Then I will make free time for you," he countered.

For this statement, Artemis had nothing to say.

"Unfortunately, that would have to wait. I am going to the West to support my army," he said.

"That's- _OOFF!_

Someone opened the door and threw her off balance. She hit the floor with a hard thump.

She looked over her shoulder at the intruder. It was Koumei.

Kouen got up and helped her.

"I'm very sorry," Koumei fretted.

"It's quite alright," she dusted her uniform off.

"Oh and one more thing," she continued looking at the uniform, "I wonder if you can do anything about this uniform. It's a bit too bright for my tastes and quite distracting."

She left and allowed Kouen and Koumei to speak. At the other end of the door, she let out a sigh and then continued on her way.

"Is that one of your…" Koumei trailed off. He knew his brother, as the first prince of Kou, had a side woman.

"No, it's the woman that we recruited for maid work," he informed.

"Oh," Koumei got the picture.

On the other hand, Kouen was not the slightest bit unnerved by Koumei's question.

The door then opened and in stepped Elise. She was smiling at Kouen and totally ignored Koumei's presence.

"What are you doing here?" Koumei's eyes narrowed a bit. He didn't take to Elise but was probably too lazy to do anything about it.

"I came to see Prince Kouen," she kept smiling.

"I think I should leave you two alone," he backed out of the room. Normally, when women were closely associated with royalty, they thought they ran the show. They would start out all innocent and after the first touch; they would fill themselves with prideful thoughts and look down on everyone else.

"Prince Kouen." She said.

* * *

><p><strong>AND CUT! Sorry guys. I had to make this short because I am not getting the kind of support I want. Anyway, hope those of you who followed, favorite and reviewed liked it. Please, I would love if you review your ideas as well. Peace out!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

_**Society exists only as a mental concept. In the real world, there are only individuals.** - _Oscar Wilde

Artemis played around with some of the old almanacs. As Alma called for them, she gave them to her one by one. Before giving them up, though, she skimmed its contents. They were quite educational.

"So, are you getting along well with the job?" Alma asked, bending over to pick up one of the books.

"I thought you asked me this already," Artemis replied.

"I know, but nothing's wrong with asking again. The woman who was before you had a terrible accident and died a few days later," Alma informed.

"Well that's interesting," Artemis passed another book to her, "Superstitious beliefs aren't my thing." Her impassiveness was something to be marveled at. Alma shook her head and chuckled as she wrapped up her work.

"My, my," she said, "You're really something to be marveled at."

Artemis dusted her hands in her apron and proceeded to the door.

"Thank you very much for your help," Alma then smiled as the blue haired left.

In the hallway, some maids were giggling. It looked as if they were gossiping. As Artemis passed, they stopped and watched her as she went her way. Since she was a level headed woman who didn't give a shit about what other people thought, it was easy for her to ignore them. They started whispering. Asriel walked up to her.

"Hey, did you hear?" she asked.

"Obviously not," Artemis looked puzzled.

"Elise is claiming that she and Kouen slept together again. This would have been her third time," Asriel informed with a series of eye rolls and frowns. The two automatically knew they were heading to the bathroom.

"And is that supposed to affect me?" Artemis questioned. "Elise is her own woman and Kouen is my superior."

"You are so composed all the time," Asriel grabbed the sides of her head as if she was going crazy, "React to a little drama and gossip."

"Drama and gossip isn't my thing," she replied while walking away. "It doesn't excite me. What _does _excite me is this book I was reading." She then held up _The History of the Kou Empire_ and smiled brightly.

"Nerd!" Asriel coughed out into her hand. This caused Artemis to frown and give her a playful punch in the arm.

"Hey, why haven't you ever told me you were in prison before you came here?" Asriel then asked as they prepared for the bath.

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning," Artemis shrugged.

"Well then, something must be wrong with you," Asriel rolled her eyes.

"Well gee, I'm sorry," Artemis held up her hands. "I was imprisoned for speaking out against war or more accurately, _writing _against war. All my works were taken and I was thrown in prison."

"That seems pretty irrational," Asriel dipped her foot in the bath before sinking her whole body underneath its warmth.

"Well that's just the way life is," Artemis followed her friend in.

They were the first to get in the bathroom for they finished their work rather early.

"How did you know I was locked up?" Artemis then asked.

"Word gets around fast and I work with gossipy fool followers of Elise," she explained, shaking out her thin brown hair.

"I see," the blue haired woman let her hair out. Asriel stared at the jungle of light blue hair.

"How the hell do you manage that?" she asked.

"I don't really know," Artemis rolled her eyes at the annoying features of her hair.

"It's very thick," Asriel commented again.

Artemis ignored her and began washing her hair.

"I'll help," Asriel grabbed the scented soaps and began rubbing it through Artemis's hair.

Both women worked together. Their silence was interrupted by the door opening and a few maids came in. They brought their lively chatter along with them. Artemis stood and began showering herself and her hair. Asriel followed when Artemis set the trend. They were out before all the maids gathered.

"Wooh," Asriel laughed, "That was great. We got out of there before those freaks could gather."

Artemis clutched her towel with one hand while the other ran through her hair.

Asriel was chatting animatedly but then stopped as she saw who was approaching them.

"What the-

Artemis stopped her from saying an expletive. Prince Kouen entered the maids' quarters. He was surrounded by two of his generals. They walked with authority and a knowing ease. Kouen probably calculated this well.

"U-um," Asriel fidgeted beside Artemis who stood at ease despite the rather embarrassing situation she was currently in.

"W-well, got to go," Asriel ran into her room and shut the door. The generals scared her. She left Artemis to fend for herself.

"Thanks a lot you good-for-nothing," Artemis sweat dropped.

She then turned her attention back to the Prince and bowed.

"Good evening," she said, setting her mouth in a straight line.

"Good evening," he returned the greeting. This caused his generals to cast side glances at him. "I am leaving tonight. When I return, we will have a meeting."

"You told me that already," she scratched her cheek. This small movement caused Kouen to get a good view of her left side curve. Her wet, blue hair clung to her chest and face and stopped at her backside. The sight of her merely standing there in a towel would make any sensible man go crazy, for she was a sensible woman.

"If the meeting goes well," he tore his gaze from her form and looked her dead in the eyes, "You might just be able to be freed completely."

"There's something I wanted to ask you," she then said. Kouen's eyes urged her to continue. "You gave me back everything except my wand. Why?"

"I don't need you escaping," he answered. "That should have been obvious."

"How do you know I would have used it to escape?" she questioned. "I'm pretty sure I am not able to go up against you or your family. I definitely won't make it that far."

"Are you not confident in your abilities?" he questioned.

"Yes, I am," Artemis ran a hand through her hair, "But I'm only thinking logically and sometimes, I believe that very same logical thinking is going to be my downfall."

She allowed her hand to fall at her side and she looked away. She didn't know why she even said that but when she looked back at Kouen, she could tell he understood her reasoning.

He then turned around and left, his two generals walking slightly behind him.

Turning to the wall, Artemis repeatedly banged her head until someone interrupted.

"You're finally showing your true idiot colors," Elise flashed Artemis a smirk. "Everyone thinks you're so smart, but you're just a bit off in my book."

Artemis was pretty sure Elise couldn't read, but anyways, she boldly talked about books as if she was familiar with them. Artemis walked away and into her room, locking the door. After changing into her sleepers, she dried her hair and went to bed.

"You have got to be kidding me," Asriel said, stuffing her face. Artemis began to eat her breakfast quietly after telling her brown haired friend what had occurred yesterday. She didn't tell her all the details though. She tried to reassure Asriel that she and Kouen were not going through a 'thing' or 'fling'.

"Elise practically grew up here and Kouen never noticed her in public. Up to this day, Prince Kouen has never done something like that for her," Asriel informed.

Artemis remained quiet.

"Oh sorry," Asriel apologized, "I forgot you aren't into the whole gossip thing. So, what did you do before breakfast?"

"Alma put me to serve Prince Koumei," Artemis answered, making sure her food was swallowed.

"Geez, you always get to serve royalty," Asriel commented.

"I guess it's because I can read and I'm responsible," the blue haired woman shrugged.

"You can read?" Asriel questioned. "In your spare time, can you teach me? I only learned the basics from my mom. She was a maid here. Usually, once your mother or father work for the palace, you were bound to follow in their footsteps."

"And that is one of the problems with our society," Artemis finished eating, "Our minds are set in one way and we refuse to look at anything else. If we're in a low social class, we choose to stick in that mediocre class instead of building ourselves up."

Asriel gave her a bitter laugh. "Everyone doesn't have the same circumstances as you, Arty. Others have it hard."

"And that's another thing. We limit ourselves and the abilities we have. We blame circumstances instead of trying to look for better options. In these times, you have to _look _for better opportunities," Artemis ended there and got to her work.

Asriel understood where Artemis was coming from, though.

~;~

**The West Subjugation Army**

Kouen sat in his tent amongst books that he had brought on his journey. He opened Artemis's journal. He had taken it without her knowledge. She must have noticed it was missing by now. Her hand writing was legible and neat.

_Today was certainly interesting. My job was to serve Prince Kouen. In all my life I never would have thought that I would be in the presence of royalty. I had met the King of Sindria just once, but that was a rather embarrassing situation and he was not crowned King at that time. My friend Asriel humors me much. She always seems to know what goes on around the palace and always knows the latest gossip. On numerous occasions, I had to tell her of my indifference to such nonsense. That was how I was raised anyway. _

Her journal continued on in that direction. He was slightly annoyed that she met Sinbad before she met him. Anyway, she was a woman of weird views and he was determined to understand those views and dominate them. His army was supplied with necessary equipment and everything was running smoothly. Therefore, he could go back home earlier than expected. He then thought of the black haired maid's request. Her name was Elise.

"_Hello, Lord Kouen," Elise stepped in and Koumei left._

_Said man didn't even look up from his work. She didn't get the hint that he wanted her to leave._

"_I was just wondering why I wasn't given the position of serving you," she neared his desk. "I mean I've been serving this palace longer than she has."_

"_And yet you don't follow the number one rule," his head was still buried in his documents, "Respect your fellow co-workers. The woman has a name."_

_Elise's hands trembled with rage. She just couldn't believe Kouen was subtly picking up for that big headed blue haired woman. _

_Kouen dismissed her and called for his brother again. _

_~;~_

Artemis finished her work efficiently and decided to lounge in the library. She had finished reading Kou's history book and was now jotting down notes on what she had just learned.

"I knew I'd find you here," Koumei entered the library and walked towards the desk where Artemis sat.

"No, you didn't," Artemis deadpanned.

Koumei sweat dropped at her straight forwardness.

"So, were you told to keep an eye on me, or something?" she asked, not looking up from her work.

Koumei stood in front of the desk and marveled at the similarities Kouen and this woman had. Despite this, they held different views and desires.

"No, actually, I was told to tell you that you can return the book once you've finished reading it," he held up a key, which was most likely, the key to Kouen's study.

"Then here," she picked up the book while scribbling some notes on paper, "I won't have time to stop by and put it back. May you put it back for me?"

Koumei yawned and then sighed. "Alright, and I was told to tell you that if you want to borrow any more books, you can come to the study."

"That's great and all but I'd prefer to stay here for now," Artemis answered, "I'll take you up on that offer tomorrow."

"Anytime, you know where to find me," he let out another yawn.

"Actually, I don't," Artemis replied, stopping the red haired man in his tracks.

"Here," he threw up the key and Artemis reflexively caught it. "Give it back to Entei when you see him again."

"This isn't necessary," she began but Koumei had already left. She didn't know who Entei was either. She guessed it was Kouen and then continued doing what she was doing.

The other day passed with no confrontation and Artemis had a lot of free time on her hands. She then wondered why she was even a maid. There were a lot of maids around this part anyway. There wasn't really a shortage of labor. Shrugging, she ate her breakfast and got on with her daily chores. Prince Kouen was supposed to be back at the palace in two days, so she had enough time to explore his office. Maybe she could even find her wand while she's at it.

"Hey, where were you yesterday?" Asriel questioned her blue haired friend.

"I was in the library," Artemis answered.

"Oh, that reminds me! Since I have free time today, can you start teaching me? I know the alphabet and how to pronounce certain words already."

"Sure," Artemis agreed. Asriel proceeded in highlighting the week's drama and that was when Artemis blanked out.

"Are you even listening to me?" Asriel asked, waving a hand in front of Artemis's face.

"Sorry what?" she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I said I haven't seen Elise for a while," she reiterated. "Have you?"

"No," Artemis replied. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know," Asriel shook her head.

"Well that's the first," Artemis chuckled.

Asriel pouted at her friend's bluntness.

"Wanna go to the library now?" she then asked.

"Sure, why not," Artemis answered and with that, the two headed to the library.

Walking to the library was peaceful. Actually, the day started out relatively peaceful for Artemis and she was expecting a peaceful end.

"Alright," Artemis said after she had established that Asriel knew how to say the alphabet. "Since you're basically a beginner in learning grammar, you should want to learn a word a day. Let's start with the word alphabet. What do you think it means?"

"A set of words used to make others look dumber," Asriel put a hand under her chin.

"No," Artemis rolled her eyes, "An alphabet is a standard set of letters which is used to write one or more languages. That is the basic definition. I could go into the etymology and so forth but that wouldn't do any good right now."

"How did you become so knowledgeable?" Asriel asked out of the blue.

"That has nothing to do with the lesson right now," Artemis replied without hesitation, "Let's talk about it some other time."

"Alright," Asriel sighed and a bored expression took over her features once more as they got back to the lesson.

~;~

Asriel and Artemis parted just before the evening baths. Asriel said she had to do some extra chores as a consequence of misbehavior. Artemis got to the bath early, as usual. What was unusual, though, was that someone was already there. When the blue haired woman stepped into the bath, she was met with the gaze of Elise.

"I forgot you come in here early," she grunted. The fake smile that always is present on her face was not seen.

"Good evening to you too," Artemis greeted and slipped under the warm bath water. Her blue hair was piled o top of her head. "What happened to you this week?"

"Nothing that should concern the likes of you," Elise answered.

Artemis remained silent and ended her bath with a shower. Elise just sat there, still soaking in the water and staring dejectedly at the tiled bathroom walls.

Walking straight to her room, she locked the door and immediately changed. That encounter was but a small dent in her peaceful day. Now, in her long, loose night gown, she lay upwards and absentmindedly reached for her diary. Her eyes widened and so did her nostrils.

"Where the hell is my book?" she questioned herself and began storming through the small pile on her dresser.

The knock on her door did nothing to appease her stressing situation. Swearing, she rolled off her bed and walked to the door.

"Good night," she answered with a bit of edge in her voice. Her gaze slowly made its way up to the person's face. From the boots only, she could tell it was Prince Kouen. Was she dreaming? S

"Um," she said, scratching her cheek sheepishly as she met his impassive gaze. His red eyes seem to bore into hers. She wasn't expecting him to come back early. Now, she couldn't search for her wand\staff.

"I believe we have things to discuss," he said, not entering her room just yet.

"Huh? Are you sure you want to enter a lady's room? It seems highly inappropriate and-

Kouen lifted a hand to stop her rattling. Stepping in, his presence alone, owned the atmosphere of the room.

"Let's start discussing and then we'll continue tomorrow," he declared; his eyes bore into hers.

"Alright," Artemis said, gesturing him to her bed. "I don't have any comfortable couches, so you'll have to make do with my bed. Besides, it would be highly improper if I were to allow you to sit on the floor."

Kouen sat on her bed and it squeaked under the pressure of his weight.

"What do you think about society today?" he asked.

"Well Prince Kouen, that's a pretty tough question and I believe parameters should be set in order to answer your question well," she replied.

"What do you think of the Kou society?" he asked.

'I'm not sure. I can only tell you about my opinions of what I've read. I haven't had much experience with Kou's society," Artemis shrugged.

Kouen looked straight into her blue eyes. It was often said that those who held eye contact often held the power.

"Look at me," he demanded, but gently.

Artemis hesitantly looked into his face, not his eyes. He gently took her chin and led her gaze towards his eyes. She swallowed and a blush stained her pale cheeks.

"Now I see why you weren't widely recognized," he said. "You lack the power of confidence in front of a stern gaze. That's why you refer to writing your speeches and putting them in newsletters instead of speaking them publicly."

"Now that you've found out one of my fears, what do you plan on doing? Using them against me or something?" she questioned and she let her gaze fall again. Again, he used his index and middle finger to position her gaze on him, and him only.

"No," he answered, "I plan to make you overcome them."

Artemis's eyes widened at this.

"Here," she held out the key to his study.

"You can keep it. I have another one," he replied while getting off the bed. "Tomorrow then."

He left Artemis standing as still as a rock. She put the key on her night stand and there, in all its glory, was her journal.

"I thought I lost you," she spoke before grabbing it up and documenting the last few days' happenings.

* * *

><p><strong>I want to take the time to acknowledge those of you who were kind enough to leave me a nice comment. Reviews are always appreciated and I just wish people did it more often. I believe it's important to tell an author how you feel about their story.<strong>

_**Mitsuyuiki- Hime**_

_**xX- Nerdy Chick- xX**_

_**Guest**_

_**Zahedra**_

**And another thank you to **_**xX- Nerdy Chick –xX**_** for another review. Hope you continue to like my story. **

**Thanks to all my followers and favorites as well. I am grateful for you, despite the fact that most of you don't like to review. I know you love my story though. Peace out!**


	4. Chapter 4

_War does not determine who is __**right**__ – only who is __**left – **_Bertrand Russell__

Artemis woke early and helped Alma wake up the others.

"Arty, before I forget," Alma reached into her pocket and pulled out something, "I know it hasn't even been a year yet, but you've been very helpful."

She stretched out her hand and Artemis took whatever it was. Looking into her hand, she noticed a gold bracelet with intricate, small leaf designs.

"It used to belong to my daughter. You remind me of her," Alma sadly smiled. "She couldn't read, though, but her personality stood out from all the rest. She passed away in her teens."

Artemis tore her gaze from the bracelet and let it fall on the plump woman in front of her.

"Here," Artemis stretched out her hand, giving the bracelet back to Alma. "If it's one of the only memories you have of your daughter then keep it."

Alma's eyes filled with tears, but she quickly wiped them away.

"It's okay if you cry," Artemis awkwardly patted the woman on her back. She wasn't really good with these kinds of things.

"I'm sorry, I'll just be a minute," Alma turned away.

"Alright, I am going for the breakfast cart," Artemis said, walking away reluctantly.

~.~

Even when Kouen was in his bed, he was still up to his eyes in work. That was all that ever interested him. That is, until he found a way out of his monotonous schedule – talking with Artemis. A knock was heard on his bedroom door. Thank goodness he rose early and prepared himself decently. He didn't want any of his generals getting the wrong idea of him.

"Come in," he said.

The breakfast cart was the first thing he saw. Then, in came Artemis. He wasn't expecting her this early.

"Good morning," she greeted out of respect.

"Good morning," he looked up and then back into the small book he was reading.

"I knocked on the door of your study but you weren't there. I met with Prince Koumei and he guided me to where you would be," she explained. "I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to enter your room, but he assured me it was alright."

"Indeed, it is," he replied. "You will be here for a while anyway."

"Oh," she put a finger to her mouth thoughtfully.

"And what is the problem?" he asked, still flipping through the pages.

"I forgot about the meeting," she replied. "Excuse me, but may I inform my friend and then come back later?"

Kouen looked at her, as if wanting an explanation.

"I am teaching her the basics of reading," Artemis answered.

"Then you can go and come back," he said and got up from his desk. "I will be in my office. I want to speak with you before the day is done."

Noticing that she still stood there, he gave her permission to go since the sun was already up.

"Well, as they say," she muttered as Kouen let her out, "make hay while the sun shines."

Kouen heard her statement and smirked. He said nothing, though. He had plenty of time later to take her up on her small, defiant ways.

~;~

"Please tell me you're free after breakfast," Artemis said to Asriel.

"Yeah and that's the time you're supposed to be helping me," she said while stuffing her face.

"Yeah," Artemis said after swallowing.

"You know, word says that Elise was 'sick' and that's why she wasn't seen much," Asriel then started up a gossip story.

"Senseless gossip," Artemis shrugged before finishing her meal.

"I don't believe it. The few times I'd passed her, she was pissed," Asriel said, "It's as if someone pissed in her cereal."

"And here she comes," Artemis announced as Elise walked up to where they sat.

"Why is it that you always seem to come when we're eating? I for one would like to digest my food properly after this," Asriel snarled.

"Shove off, bitch," Elise retorted. "As you can see, you're not important. I didn't come to speak to you." She then turned to smile at Artemis. "I came to speak with her."

"Yes?" Artemis looked up.

"I don't know what you are up to with Prince Kouen, but stay away. This is my second warning," she rolled her eyes and flipped her hair before walking away.

"Third time's always the charm," Artemis gave Elise the most infuriating smile she could muster up. Elise huffed and turned away.

"Yeah, that's right. Go on and eat the bitch flakes in your bowl!" shouted Asriel as she watched Elise's retreating form.

~;~

"Is there any way you could get Kouen to guillotine her?" Asriel asked when the scene was over.

"Kouen is my superior," Artemis began, "He isn't my lover or anything."

"I know, but he seems to be interested in you," she said, getting ready for her lesson.

"Let's stop talking about irrelevant things," Artemis got out a text book.

The two began on the topic Prefixes.

~;~

Kouen was conversing with Hakuei. The two were currently in Kouen's study.

"I brought what you asked for," she held out a small package. "What is it anyway?"

"It's something that belongs to one of the maids here," he replied. Hakuei placed herself behind the desk and looked at what Kouen was doing. He was currently studying a map.

"Is this the land we just acquired?" she asked, letting her hand caress the land of Kou.

"Yes," he replied.

"And you're planning on covering the area next to it as well," she deduced.

"If all goes well," he answered.

Someone knocked on the door of his study.

It was Artemis, but she wasn't in her maid's uniform. Instead, she was in a light blue loose fitted top and an Indian styled dress pants. Her hair was up in a pony tail that completed the whole Indian look… sort of.

"Good afternoon," she bowed. "I came in this because I don't think I have any other duties today. Don't worry; I talked to the Head Maid about it."

Hakuei observed the woman. She assumed this was the maid Kouen was talking about.

"Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself," she turned to Hakuei and bowed, "My name is Artemis."

The princess gave her a warm smile in return. "I believe you have something to discuss, so I'll be on my way," Hakuei excused herself.

When they were completely alone, Kouen gestured for Artemis to sit.

He looked over some papers he had in his hand. They were notes he made on the points in Artemis's works.

"Why do you believe war is bad?" he questioned. That was the basis of her work.

"Why are you asking me this question?" she answered with another question, "It's not like my views will change your views."

"As a leader of Kou, I want to explorer all ideas, even though I have opinions of my own," he replied with ease.

Artemis sighed before answering. "I've watched war tear up not only countries but people, whether economically, mentally, or socially. My family was a victim of all of those three things. In my opinion, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. If that happened, then we wouldn't have the loss of lives."

Kouen stared at her before answering. "I am an advocate of war. I believe that if the world was united under on king, then it would be a better place. A war without fighting isn't a war at all. We all have to fight for something."

Artemis chocked on her spit… if that was even possible. "Unite the world under one king?"

Kouen wasn't surprised at her distaste for the idea. "The world wasn't meant to be that way."

"You say that war isn't good and that is exactly what I'm trying to stop," he explained further.

"You're using war to stop war," she deduced and calmed herself.

"Think of it as extinguishing fire with fire," he sat back in his chair and watched her. There was a host of expressions present on her face.

"The people will rebel," she said, "That is inevitable. People are all different and need to be ruled under different Rulers. That is just my view on the situation, but I will not deny that you have a point as well."

Kouen expected this. She was indeed a wise woman. She looked at both sides and made deductions. Beneath his hand, he smirked. Artemis was playing with the material of her pants.

"Here," he pushed the package Hakuei had brought to him.

Artemis's eyes lighted up. She could feel the energy that emanated from what was inside the bag. It was her wand.

"What type of magician are you?" Kouen questioned.

"Has this turned into a question and answer?" she questioned with a glint of mischief in her eye.

"I am a Yellow magician which is a lightning type," she answered, clutching the package tightly.

"You have a strong aptitude for life magic as well," he said, not waiting for her to explain.

"Yes, I do," she affirmed.

There was a long pause and the silence was almost suffocating.

"You are free," he said, disrupting the dreadful silence.

"I really don't have anything else to do for the d-

"I meant," Kouen locked his fingers together and put them under his chin, "You don't have to work as a maid anymore. You are free to return to your home."

Artemis's head lowered and her shoulders shook. It turned out that she was laughing. Her laugh was quite graceful, but quite disrespectful in the current situation.

"Thank you for freeing me Prince Kouen, but I think I've grown quite attached to this place. I've made a few friends here and they are very kind. I wouldn't give that up for the world," she looked at him with sincerity.

Kouen blinked slowly and watched Artemis impassively. He calculated this well.

"It isn't like I have anywhere to go back to," Artemis shrugged.

"Then work, not as a maid, but as a subordinate of my brother," he said. This caused her eyes to widen. She didn't mind maid work, but working under Koumei would be so much better.

"I'd like that very much," she stood and bowed. Inside, she rejoiced slightly because she didn't have to wear that horrid uniform anymore.

Kouen's eyes briefly widened but his expression returned to normal when she sat down again.

"Why have you freed me?"She asked. "I can smell an ulterior motive from afar."

"That shouldn't bother you," he replied, looking at his map.

She sank back into her chair.

Kouen, on the other hand, knew that things were going his way and that this was only the beginning.

~;~

He had dismissed her and was now on his way to a meeting with the country's leaders. He knew what the meeting was about, but he was not the least bit bothered by it.

When everyone was seated, the orator began.

"Lords and Ladies," he greeted, "Wouldn't you all agree that it is high time that Prince Kouen elopes?"

**Oh my! I am so happy with how this story is progressing in terms of the support. I hope that I get even more readers and in turn, get more support. I decided to update again because I was really happy with the support I am getting. I want to introduce you guys to AnimeFreak145. She is my beta reader and full time supporter. She has two Magi fanfics so if you wanna check it them out, you can. Also, she writes for HunterXHunter. **

**Thank you so very much:**

_**Mitsuyuki-Hime**_**: Thanks for reviewing. I was absolutely encouraged by it. Hope your name was spelled correctly this time. Gyokuen will make her appearance. Maybe soon, maybe later. Who knows? **

_**Handara:**_** Your review made me blush! It encouraged me, so thank you! **

_**Lunatic Forever Dude**_**: First of all, your name is awesome. Secondly, thank you for your review. It was really flattering, but it could not attain its epicness if it wasn't for AnimeFreak145. **

_**Zahedra**_**: Thank you for your review. It makes me sooooo happy. I hope you continue supporting me. I will try to maintain Artemis's personality. **

_**Smileyface209**_**: Your review keeps me writing more. I love that you took the time to review on my story. I know it isn't up to par with being fully interesting, but I will try to make it interesting enough.**


	5. Chapter 5

Kouen left the meeting with a satisfied mood. Everything had gone his way for now, so he had some time to organize himself before decisions were shoved into the hands of the councilors. He walked along the corridors, his guards swaying left to right whenever he turned. If things went his way, he would have his queen in no time. The normal women around him were, in actuality, tasteless and ruthless. They couldn't even formulate a proper sentence. That is why he had his sights set on Artemis. The first encounter he had with her was like a preamble to greater things. It sparked an insatiable interest in the young woman – an interest to understand her ideals more. Along with that, there was no harm in getting to know her either. That is why he always found himself flipping through her journal from time to time. It gave him a lot of insight on how she viewed things. From their first encounter, he had been testing her. The first test occurred when he asked her to eat with him. She selflessly replied. The second time he asked her, she had no reason to refuse. At that moment, he tested her ability to use eating utensils well. Despite seeming unimportant, this fact was looked upon by many nobles. From his other tests, he found out that she wasn't too keen on public speaking, and she didn't like gossip. Kouen forced himself to think of all his observations of her as merely a trivial test. But is that what he truly thinks?

~.~

Artemis had already taken her bath and was now laying face upwards on her small bed. The meeting with Kouen was bland in her opinion. It lacked something. She knew he was doing this for his own personal gain, but she couldn't quite pin point what it was. She grabbed a pencil and her journal from the nightstand and turned over to write a couple of sentences. After, she allowed her head to collapse rather ungracefully on the bed. If the bed was any harder, she would have been suffering from a broken nose. She let out a frustrated noise before burying her head into the bed again.

~.~

"It's morning already?" she drawled as her eyes peaked open. The sun was about to make its grand appearance. She wasn't too late. She hopped out of the bed and skidded across the floor to get to the bath. That was when it hit her. She was no longer a maid. Artemis allowed her body to slump over and she rested her hands on her knees. Nevertheless, she took a bath and dressed in normal clothes. Despite not being a maid anymore, Alma still visited her.

"The news that you got another job didn't surprise me," she smiled. "You're a bit too useful to just spend your days as a maid."

"I wouldn't think of it like that," Artemis shrugged. She had a bad habit of doing that during conversations.

"Well that is just my opinion and it appears that Prince Kouen thinks the same thing," Alma explained.

"Don't worry, I'll still be around a lot," Artemis smiled.

"I know that," Alma rolled a cart in front of Artemis. "Now will you roll this on for old time's sake?"

Artemis looked at the cart and pondered. Does she really want to run into Kouen right now?

"Alright," she slumped her shoulders and took hold of the diner cart.

Alma chuckled as she watched Artemis push it along.

~.~

"Good morning," Artemis said after knocking.

Kouen looked up and a glint of surprise was in his crimson eyes.

"Wasn't expecting me, were you," Artemis smirked.

"It was just a slight surprise that you would still be doing such a job," Kouen looked back down in the book he was holding.

"I refuse to look down on other jobs," Artemis stated while placing the cuisines before Kouen. "Oh, and about my new job," she put her hands on her hips, "what exactly am I supposed to do for Prince Koumei?"

"That's for him to decide," Kouen answered.

"I see," Artemis stood aside.

"You can join me if you want," he gestured in front of him.

"So you went from 'ordering' me to 'inviting' me," Artemis chuckled but nevertheless, joined him.

They ate in silence which seemed quite boring to Artemis. Normally, when having breakfast with Asriel, their time would be filled with chatter and some occasional laughter. In prison, it was sort of the same thing.

"Who taught you how to use eating utensils?" Kouen asked when they were finished.

"My dad," she answered.

This was the first time Kouen asked her about her family.

"I'm sure you know the rundown of my family back ground," she rolled her eyes; "You read the first part of my journal."

Kouen was slightly relieved that she didn't know he was still reading it.

"In it, you don't mention much about your mother," he impassively studied her facial expressions.

"My mom was a prostitute," she kind of blurted that out. "But it doesn't matter. I am not going to be like her. I live every day of my life trying to be as successful as I can be without going to those kinds of means." She answered quite nonchalantly but Kouen could see regret in her expression.

"Is that why you invested your time into studying?" he asked.

"Well," she paused for a while, "Yes, but that isn't the only reason. There are many factors including that. They're not worth explaining now." She shrugged.

Kouen continued to read her expressions like a book.

"So, I know this is kind of personal and you might not answer, but what about you? Why do you have such a vast thirst for knowledge?" she questioned Kouen.

"I intend to unite the world. Also, the Torran language, people and society interest me," he answered.

"Wow, that was so detailed," she sarcastically remarked.

"Was I supposed to answer any differently/" he questioned. He was obviously not catching on.

"You're so cryptic," she said. "From our conversations, I always try to comprehend you but it's like solving very difficult puzzles. And by the way, I am pretty good at solving puzzles."

"The puzzle analogy was completely off," he nonchalantly commented. "I cannot be solved."

"Oh?" Artemis's eyebrows arched at his statement, "Well I am going to prove you wrong, my friend."

This time, it was Kouen's turn to raise his eyebrow, no matter how slight the action was. First of all, she opposed his statement, and then second of all, she called him friend. What was she getting at?

"Just wait and see," she was already at the door and he didn't even notice. He was too caught up in his thoughts.

~.~

"So, what would you have me do today?" she asked Koumei who languidly sat down in the lounging area.

"There's nothing much to do today," he answered. "But tomorrow, we have to get started with sorting the underground library.

"Oh, alright," she sat down awkwardly. She wasn't really used to doing nothing.

The door opened and in walked Kouha. Artemis had never met Kouha, so her curiosity peaked as he walked in with three women behind him.

"Who're you?" he questioned, pointing at Artemis.

Artemis stood and bowed. "My name is Artemis."

"You have nice hair," he commented, pulling on a stray lock. Artemis tried to straighten up but Kouha pulled her back down by the lock he was holding. Artemis winced, but kept her mouth shut as he was doing whatever he was doing.

"Hey, can I play with your hair later?" he asked innocently.

"U-uh, sure," a bead of sweat dropped from her forehead. He then let her go.

"Jinjin, Junjun, Reirei," he called his three attendants, "Bring me my dogs!"

"D-dogs?!" Artemis shrieked and sped to another corner of the room. She was terrified of dogs…_TERRIFIED_.

This scene was quite comical to Koumei. It wasn't everyday you see a smart woman shriek like an idiot and run across a room. On the other hand, Kouha cocked his head to the side questioningly. The dogs were brought in and Artemis drove herself further into the corner. Kouha lovingly petted them. They were huge and looked like guardians.

"What the hell do you feed those things?" she asked.

"Body parts," Kouha nonchalantly answered.

Artemis suddenly regretted even asking. Koumei put his sleeve to his mouth, hiding an amused smile.

"Deciding that she had to get out of the room, Artemis slowly crept along the walls until she reached the door. Finally behind the door, she reached to open it.

_OOFF!_ The door opened and threw her to the floor. This was definitely not the first time this happened.

She groaned and rubbed her head. The new arriver was Judal. He stomped in without even glancing back at the mess he'd made. Artemis groaned again and this caused him to finally look back.

"Oh, it's the maid," Judal acknowledged.

"You're a maid?" Kouha but in.

"An ex-maid," Koumei answered on Artemis's behalf.

They continued like this and Artemis decided she couldn't take the senseless chatter anymore. She trudged out the door and never returned.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for the reviews! Thank you for the support. I am so sorry I made it short. School life does that to you; especially when you're trying to update for your loving readers. Thank you to all my followers and favoriters…. If that's even a word. <strong>

**Zahedra: I know you probably thought I was going to divulge how the meeting went, but I decided to leave that for the next chapter. I said enough about it in this one. **

**Smileyface209: I love that you love my story. Hope I didn't disappoint too much. **

**Apte: Your review was like a wakeup call. I knew that Artemis was leaning more to the side of perfection and usually, I don't read stuff like that. Thank you for the warning. Thank you soo much.**

**DarkArtemis4: I love your name, especially since my OC is called Artemis as well. Thank you so much for the encouraging review. It made me veeeerrrryyy happy. That's why I try to update quickly. **

**xX-Nerdy Chick-xX: I will reveal more as the chapters go by. I hope I gave you a little more insight on Artemis's past. I think.**

**Minchen0897: Thank you so much for your review. It made me happy inside. I hope you continue to read my story. **


	6. Chapter 6

_We cannot have that relationship if we only dictate or threaten and condemn those who disagree. – Zbigniew Brezezinski_

Artemis and Koumei were currently walking into the underground library. The silence was gratefully accepted. A replay of yesterday was not how Artemis planned her day. Koumei occasionally glanced over at Artemis.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Artemis questioned, trying to look down at her chin.

"No," he put his sleeve to his mouth and chuckled.

"Then why are you looking at me?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

Koumei thought for a while. He couldn't just tell her that he was trying to find out what his oldest brother sees in her.

"I'm just wondering how such a well composed woman as yourself is afraid of dogs," he lied.

Artemis turned her face away defiantly. "Everyone has to be afraid of something," she said. "Like, I believe Prince Kouen is afraid of ignorance."

Now this was truly something for Koumei to laugh at, but her belief was quite accurate.

"Alright, you have a point there," he said.

"I know I do," she smirked.

Finally reaching the library, Koumei opened the door. "Well, you don't have to finish today. You can take frequent breaks."

"I thought you were helping me," she sweat dropped.

"Yes," he said, "I helped you get here."

And with that, Koumei left. Luckily, he left a bright lamp – one that she could work with.

Holding it up, she looked at the pile of books that were stacked near the shelves. The place was dusty and this irked Artemis.

"This is going to be a long day," she sighed and her shoulders slumped.

~;~

"Is she doing well with her new position?" Kouen asked.

"Yes," Koumei answered. "And might I add, she has an interesting fear of dogs."

Koumei looked over at his brother to see his reaction, and as usual, it was neutral

"I don't think that was of any importance," Kouen brushed it off.

Koumei knew this was a cover, though. He knew his brother was interested in the blue haired woman.

"I have to go back to the West," Kouen informed his brother.

"The supplies were sufficient," Koumei put a hand on his chin, "What could be the problem?"

"There's a small uprising in the territory we just claimed," he answered. "Some main soldiers were injured."

"What are you planning to do?" Koumei asked.

"What I always do," he replied, "Resolve and conquer."

"Why don't you take Artemis along with you? I'm sure both of you would probably find an interesting cave along the way and stop to dig up buried artifacts." The last sentence was meant to point out how knowledge-hungry Kouen was. He didn't get Koumei's hint though.

"If it is alright with you, she can accompany me. She is your worker after all," Kouen said.

"I don't have a problem," Koumei answered.

Koumei then left his brother.

~;~

Artemis sighed for the 50th time. She ran out of disinfectant spray. To her, this was no different than her old job. She was cleaning a library for peace sake. If you really thought about it though, this job would be too risky for a maid, as it was underground. She had finished the east wing of the library and was heading to the south. The door rattled open and Asriel stepped in.

"Asriel, what are you doing here?" Artemis asked.

"Gee Arty, I thought you were smarter than that," she held up the covered plate of food.

"Why would they send you down here?" Artemis asked. "It's kind of dangerous."

"That's not important now," Asriel shook her head. "What is important is why you never told me you were a magician."

Artemis scratched her cheek and looked down. "I'm sorry if that offended you."

"Of course it offended me!" she burst out in rage. "Do you know how long you could have zapped that bitch, Elise?"

Artemis face palmed. She thought Asriel was seriously mad at her. "You're a bad influence on me."

"And yet you still love me," Asriel smirked and sat on one of the chairs.

"If you're here, you might as well help me. Besides, it will help with your vocabulary," Artemis stooped to pick up a book.

"Fine," Asriel complied and the two made a lot of progress together.

"You know, Elise is the one serving Prince Kouen now," Asriel informed.

Artemis didn't respond. Countless of times she had told Asriel that she wasn't the least bit interested in what Elise did.

"No response, eh," Asriel smirked.

"Just get back to work before I lock you down here," Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose.

_That Evening_

Artemis was in her room looking at drawings of old landscapes when someone rapped on her door. Kouen had demanded that she moved into different quarters.

"Come in," she called out, too lazy to get up.

"You shouldn't leave you door unlocked," Kouen remarked, stepping in. Artemis didn't look up. She was too engrossed in what she was doing.

"Or what?" she questioned, "A monster is going to come in a bite me?"

Kouen impassively stared at her while she smirked.

"Precisely," he was aiming for a bit of sarcasm but his expression didn't match it.

"Now why has the Prince of Kou visited me?" she questioned.

"To offer you to an opportunity to accompany me to the West," he answered.

This piqued her interest and caused her eyes to wander to his face. Could he be serious?

"No catch?" she raised her eyebrow.

"No," Kouen replied.

"Then yes," she nodded. "Thank you."

"Be ready. We leave in the morning," he said and turned to leave.

'_Wow,' _she thought_, 'a chance to see Kouen live in action. This must be my luck day.'_

Artemis, true to her character, got up at an early time and readied herself for the occasion. She didn't know exactly what would take place but she was ready if an attack was to occur. She threw a water bottle strap over her shoulder and put her wand in her boot. She went to the palace gates and there, Kouen and his right and left generals were there.

"Good morning," she greeted and in response, they nodded.

After waiting for one soldier, the group took off. Kouen, as expected was in front. Artemis, on the other hand, lagged behind, observing everything.

The port wasn't far and the horses were already on the ship. When the group was safely boarded, they took off. Their destination wasn't a long one and by tomorrow, they should return home.

As the ship sailed, Artemis took out her journal and began writing.

_Today started out as usual, but I believe more interesting things lie ahead. I don't know why, but I feel a tinge of excitement. I haven't really got the experience of being on an actual war site. I've been to old ones though, but you could imagine how boring that was. There was no action and it was basically deserted. Anyway, I am currently on a ship… something I haven't been on for a while. The last time I remember being on one was the time I sailed from Magnostad to Kou. _

She continued to get lost in her writing. Her journal was the only place that allowed her to be a chatterbox. Kouen stood afar and observed her. She was too busy to notice, but his generals did.

His right general smirked. He may be an old man, but he knew interest when he saw it.

He watched her hair fall into her face and instead of pushing it back gently behind her ear; she threw it over her shoulder, as it was a distraction. Kouen was interrupted when he noticed the waves getting violent. The ship shook. Artemis looked up and at Kouen who was walking toward the edge. There, swimming in the waters, was a long tailed sea creature. It was dark green in color with white fins. It bumped into the ship again and this time, it threw Artemis off balance. She landed on her butt, but was unaffected by the impact. Getting up, she headed to Kouen.

"What are you going to do?" she asked him.

"Wait for it to rise," he answered.

"Well, in that case, could I deal with it?" she asked. "It doesn't seem that big to me and I've dealt with stuff like this before."

Kouen contemplated a bit. He could have easily done it himself… one slash and the creature was done for.

"Alright," he consented.

What drove him to say yes was something he probably will never understand.

She smirked and walked back. Then, running forward, she jumped and balanced herself on the ledge of the ship. Kouen watched with slight anticipation. She hopped off, but before she reached the water, she flew up, taunting the sea animal. Her mind was filled with thoughts of excitement and a sense of freedom took over her. She hadn't flown in sooo long. She was then reminded of how much she loved being a magician and appreciated all the blood, sweat and tears she went through to be an acceptable one. The beast reared its ugly head. It positioned its mouth right above Artemis and rose up, trying to swallow her whole. Before it could do that, though, Artemis activated her lightning magic and electrocuted it.

Landing at the spot she sat before the attack, Artemis gave Kouen thumbs up.

Kouen blinked several times before turning away.

~:~

Land was in sight and soon enough, they were all exiting the ship. Artemis hopped down and looked all around her. It was a vast terrain of grass and few trees. There were cattle grazing and horses neighing. Up ahead, she could spot a few shacks which identified that this was a village.

Kouen and his right and left generals mounted their horses. Artemis just stared at the horse she had been given and Kouen gave her a questioning look.

"Just mentally preparing myself," she held up her hands before grabbing onto the saddle and mounting herself.

Kouen led them to the village.

Around, you could see soldiers. The village occupants wore hateful expressions as they watched Kouen and the group pass by.

Artemis then realized just how big the village was. On the outside, there were shacks, but on the inside, there were houses built of brick and painted nicely. Kouen stopped to converse with the leader of the troops. Artemis didn't understand what was happening as yet.

In the middle of their conversation, Kouen noticed that some of the village's warriors began to surround them. They had spears in their hands and some even had rocks. Artemis had a neutral expression on her face.

"Give us back our freedom!" the supposed leader shouted. He had different color markings on his person and he had a huge sword in his hand. Everyone began to make noise until Kouen put up his hand, signaling for them to be quiet. Artemis noticed that even his enemies obeyed him. He had a natural air of leadership around him.

"If you don't back down now, we will have no choice but to eradicate you. Cooperate and everything will go well," he said and pierced the man in front of him with a fiery gaze.

"Never!" the man shouted. "All you people want is to suppress us under harsh conditions and leave us to die!"

Kouen's expression darkened. He would have already have the man killed, but Artemis was present and until the situation called for it, he would not have her conjuring the wrong idea of him. What surprised everyone, though, was one of the village's citizens stepping forward. It was an old woman and she took slow, deliberate steps to the centre.

"Have you no eyes?" she ridiculed. "Kou has come and taken us out of our depression. This place looked like a dump before they showed up. Now under them, we don't have to wonder about our next meal and under their protection, we don't have to worry about being attacked!"

Kouen closed his eyes and turned around. Coming here was a complete waste of his time… or so he thought. As he turned around, he noticed a wounded soldier staggering up to him. He was of Kou. Kouen watched as the man fell before him. Artemis hopped off the horse and rushed forward. Kneeling, she checked his pulse. Despite some of the glares from the people around her, she was going to help this man. She could perform healing magic too. He had a wound on his head and she used her finger to close it up. She then dealt with the major wounds and then stood up.

"He'll be alright," she turned to Kouen who was off his horse. He then looked in the direction where the man staggered from. Walking back to his horse, he mounted it and rode into that particular direction. This was an attack and an act of complete defiance and he will not tolerate it. No one will thwart his plans.

~;~

Artemis rode off with Kouen's generals. She could tell he was upset.

"To deal with this, a strategy isn't needed. I will take care of it," he said as his generals caught up. The scenery began to change into a more deserted one and up ahead, there was a gathering of men. They were dressed in meager armor and stood in a circle. When they got closer, Artemis could see that they had stones in their hands. One by one, their heads snapped up to look at Kouen as he un-mounted his horse and took on a different transformation. His hair turned orange and lengthened considerably. His abs was in full view and there were tattoos on his body. Artemis couldn't help but stare at what she guessed was his dijin transformation. It was definitely amazing in her opinion.

"Ahh, so you've come to overcome us," one of them laughed. "Tough luck because there are plenty of us and only one of you. And certainly, in your defeat, those old cronies and that woman won't have the strength to come to your aid."

Artemis sweat dropped at this. They were a bunch of ignorant people who underestimated people. Artemis was sure that any smart person would be quivering in their boots and begging for mercy at the sight of Kouen in that form. With a slash of his sword, Kouen utilized his gravity magic technique and transported them over the nearby cliff. He wasn't like Kouha, who would rip them to shreds. Throwing them over the cliff was him being quite merciful. Artemis, being quite curios, went to the edge of the cliff and looked down. At the bottom, there were broken bodies and blood. A few of them hung on to the crumbling hill. One of them let go and she watched as his body hit the rocks. She wasn't fazed though. Turning around, she mounted her horse.

~;~

Sailing back to Kou, there was silence. Artemis did the wise thing and kept her mouth shut. Kouen was probably still upset and she didn't want to upset him even further. It was evening and the sun was setting. She wrote the last few words she could think of at the moment and put away the book. Leaning her head back, she allowed sleep to take her.

Kouen waited until she was completely sleeping to take her journal. He could have just ordered her to give him, but she would have probably disregarded his command.

There, she wrote:

_At that time, Prince Kouen seemed upset. I am now beginning to understand that his goal is much more than he wants people to think. He is working towards it, but I cannot deny the fact that there are people out there who will fight until their very last death to make sure goal like Prince Kouen's don't succeed. People love complete freedom, even if it would bring them eternal misery. That was probably how my mother felt. She probably thought of me and my father as a burden and wanted to be free of us… even if it eventually brought her to her demise. In being free of us, she began dealing with problematic situations with the wrong kinds of people and so she met her end. I decided to write about this because there was no real way of getting around it. Her decisions affected who I am today. I am strong and smart… I will not deny those two things, but somewhere in me, I am afraid of failure and afraid of the desires I choose to ignore. _

Kouen wondered what she meant by desires. Her writing was amazing, but very cryptic. She didn't explain a lot, but reading this helped him understand her internal battles.

The ship was now anchored in the private Kou harbor. Deciding not to wake her up, he lifted her carefully and brought her all the way to her room.

**Yes, I used the opportunity to have Kouen understand Artemis a bit more and Artemis to understand Kouen a bit more as well… kind of. Anyway, as usual, I will use this time to say thank you but before, I will say a big THANK YOU to all those who followed and favorite. **

_**Apte:**_** I hope I did a good job with the whole army thing. I was wracking my brains on how I could make it interesting and I really hope you aren't too bored. I love your reviews because you always give me insights on things I can correct of things I can add in. You are truly an inspiration.**

_**SchokoDelphin**_**: Thank you for your kind review. I hope you continue to read my story. XD**

_**Partygirl98**_**: Thank you sooo much for reviewing. I hope this satisfied you and made you happy.**

_**Minchen0897**_**: School is definitely a pain and I am glad you understand my pain. I am also glad that you reviewed and I really hope that I don't end up boring you or anything. **

_**Xx-NerdyChick-xX**_**: Thank you for your encouraging review. I hope I gave you a bit more on Artemis's background, but not too much. My aim is to focus on how her background ultimately shaped her in being the woman she is now. **


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat**__. – _Harry Emerson Fosdick

In the morning, Artemis didn't have to wonder how she got into bed the previous night. She knew Kouen had carried her. Yesterday had been quite the experience for her. She learned a lotand that was more than enough to brighten the morning. Then, out of nowhere, thoughts of the piles of work she had to do loomed over her like a dreary cloud. She didn't mind working in the library, but with zero help and little to no human contact, it was quite taxing. On the brighter side, she could browse through countless of information without having to go through much trouble. She readied herself and headed towards the library. Artemis managed to remember the directions and had little trouble finding her way. On the way, she and Elise spotted each other. It looked as if she was headed to Lord Kouen's study. A smirk etched itself on her features as she rolled the breakfast cart to her desired direction. She then stopped and she and Artemis were practically shoulder to shoulder.

"So, how are you liking your new job?" she questioned with an eerie smile.

"It's perfect," Artemis answered, not bothering with her fake expression.

"Oh well, as long as it keeps you away, then I'm alright. Now all I have to do is getting rid of your friend," she muttered the last part and Artemis barely heard it.

"Okay," Artemis moved on with her life.

~;~

Artemis got down and dirty… with work. At noon, she waited for Asriel to bring her lunch. The West part was finally done and the only part left was the South Wing. She decided to take a rest. While waiting for her food, she read an enticing journal. It belonged to a former queen of Kou; the first wife of the late King. It was very detailed and beautiful. Artemis could tell she had many sorrows, though. The King would have children with other women. Someone knocked on the door and interrupted her reading. She expected it to be Asriel, but instead, it was Koumei. He looked tired; as if coming down to the library was a very taxing job.

"Good afternoon, Prince Koumei," she greeted and put down the book. She didn't really think it was appropriate to be reading through his mother's privacy.

"I came to tell you that you can retire for the day," he informed.

"Uh… okay," she slowly got up and headed to the door. Koumei followed her out.

"When I finish this job, what else would you have in mind for me to do?" she questioned when he caught up.

"Not much, really," he shrugged. Maybe you could help organize something to benefit the countries we've conquered."

"Alright," she nodded.

"You can also take reports to Prince Kouen when I'm not available," he added.

"You mean when you're too lazy to do it," she chuckled as she corrected him.

Koumei couldn't help but marvel at her weirdness. Only his brother could find interest in such a woman. In and of herself, she was quite interesting, but could be quite boring at times. Who in their right minds would sit and read all day? Personally, he didn't mind the sitting, but to evade meals and rest just to gather information is crazy in his opinion. He wasn't saying that she did this though. Since she was similar to his brother, he was sure she would have most of his crazy traits.

~;~

A random maid brought Artemis her lunch. She was polite and pretty. Artemis guessed she was a new maid. The fact that another person brought her food puzzled her, though. Questions started to arise about the whereabouts of Asriel. So, after eating, she intended to quell her curiosity.

Making her way over to one of the shy maids, she addressed them.

"Hey," she greeted. Their heads immediately went down. It was as if they couldn't look her in the eye. "Um, have any of you seen Asriel?" Artemis ignored the fact that they were paying attention to their shoes and not giving her their full attention.

""S-she," one of them stuttered and soon after, she broke into a fit of soft sobs. Artemis then realized that all of them had tears at the corners of their eyes.\

"Just calm down and tell me what's going on," Artemis tried to calm them.

"S-she fell from one of the balconies," one of them finally said. "I-it was a short distance but it damaged her. We didn't get to see her after, but they said it's pretty bad."

Artemis didn't even give them time to finish. She ran off into the direction which she assumed dealt with medical patients. The tears she thought she would never cry again were finally stinging her eyes. It was as if they were begging for permission to fall. She couldn't let her tears have their way, though. Upon reaching, there were some medical priests and magicians there.

"Excuse me, Miss," one of them said, "Do you have any business here?"

"Yes, I do," she answered coldly. "I need to see my friend."

Someone whispered something and all of them parted so that she could walk through.

The room Asriel was placed in was poorly lit. There was one bed and on that bed laid her friend. Her head was bandaged and there were bruises on her face and neck. Also, her arms and legs were bandaged.

"She's a survivor," one of the magicians came behind her. "I thought there was no hope for her, but somehow, she pulled through. We believe she is currently in a coma."

"I see," Artemis nodded and walked closer. Falling from a balcony couldn't just happen. It was too obvious that there were signs of struggle. Anyone could tell by looking at her neck. Someone did this.

"Thank you," she said before trudging out of the room.

Assumption and theories presented themselves in her thoughts.

Kouen was on his way to a meeting when he caught sight of Artemis's familiar light blue hair. It looked as if she was walking slowly. He then walked towards her and immediately, Artemis stopped.

"Good afternoon," she said. To him, her voice sounded cold.

"You don't seem to be quite like yourself right now," he noted. "Is there a problem?"

The fact that Kouen was actually showing an interest in her well being should have been enough to receive a smirk from her, but none came. Instead, she answered Kouen plain and straight.

"A friend of mine was injured today," she replied.

"I believe I heard about that," he said.

"I'm very sorry but I have somewhere to be right now," she walked away. This was quite unlike her, but Kouen didn't have time to stop her. He had a meeting to get to. What played on his mind was why she was so upset about it. People got injured all the time.

~;~

Artemis headed straight to her journal to make another entry. She believed that writing was probably the best way to calm her thoughts. Not even talking to Kouen helped.

_Today began like any other day. I got up as usual and did what I had to do. It seemed as if everything was okay, but my friend somehow fell off a balcony while I was peacefully working. How in the world was a young woman supposed to just fall off a balcony? That wasn't even logical. The infrastructure of Kou is relatively safe and didn't give way to careless accidents like that._

_Therefore, someone had a hand in this. My theory is that Elise was involved in this. She hurt my friend, and as a result, she hurt me. I am unsure of how to deal with the situation, for I do not have any power. I am basically helpless…_

She didn't know what else to write. She was stumped at the fact that she couldn't do anything much. What she wrote was basically scattered. All she wanted to do was lie down and let sleep cover her like a safety blanket.

Don't ask how Kouen attained Artemis's journal. He had his ways and he definitely held a lot of power over many of the palace workers. As he read this, he became quite agitated. He was annoyed at the fact that she couldn't tell him this. This meant that she had little trust in him.

"Bring Artemis to me," he ordered a passing soldier. It was almost midnight when he said this. He also gave the soldier other specific instructions to be carried out involving the other matter.

He then sat in his study and waited patiently.

~;~

When Artemis got the instructions, she was half awake. After the soldier left, Artemis's eyes popped open.

"Huh?" she scrambled out of bed. Why would Kouen be calling her this late in the night? Had she committed 'treason' against the country? Was he going to punish her for giving him the cold shoulder? When she finally arrived at his study, she knocked and immediately, she was given permission to enter. Kouen, for once, wasn't busy writing and reading. Instead, his crimson eyes followed her as she presented herself in front of him.

"Good night," in his opinion, she sounded better than before. He could tell though, that she was tired.

"Good night," he answered. "I have called you to discuss what happened earlier."

"What happened earlier was something I didn't expect. I am sorry I disrespected you as a result," she apologized.

"This isn't about that," he countered. "I want to know your opinion on the matter."

"If that's all," she sighed, for she was tired, "I believe that her fall wasn't an accident. Someone pushed her and there should be an investigation."

"Is that all?" he questioned, his crimson eyes never leaving her tired, sad eyes.

"That is all I'm willing to share," she answered. "I don't want to reveal my theory on who did it because that would just cause unwanted confusion."

"I understand," he replied. Unbeknownst to her, Kouen had already began the investigation and was probably about to receive the report anytime now.

"Why is it that my opinion matters so much?" Artemis asked the Prince.

"You are a smart woman. That is enough reason for me to ponder on your ideas," he answered, but inside, he knew there was a deeper meaning.

"Every smart person has intolerable vices and weaknesses," she answered. "Being smart doesn't make you perfect."

"I never said that," he stated.

"I know, but it didn't hurt to make it even clearer," she replied.

"Anyway, may I please be dismissed?" she questioned.

"Yes," Kouen replied. "And if you want, you can continue to read my mother's journal.

She sweat dropped. How the hell did he find out about that?

"How did you know?" she questioned.

"My brother is very observant," Kouen answered.

"Oh," she rubbed the back of her head. "The journal was written very well and the spelling is immaculate. I'm sorry if I was sort of intruding on your family's privacy."

"It is not a problem," Kouen dismissed any guilt she had. If she was going to be part of the family in the future, she needed to know _about_ the family.

~;~

Kouen looked into the eyes of Elise, the maid. She smiled wickedly at him as she stood before him. Kouen was no fool and what Artemis had suspected was correct. Elise knew she couldn't take advantage of Artemis because she was a magician. But, it was more convenient for her to take advantage of the weaker one, Asriel.

"So Artemis thinks _I_ did it?" she didn't even try to hide her sick pleasure. This was Elise's true nature. Kouen saw that a long time ago, though.

"For me, it isn't an opinion," Kouen's voice was anything but soft. It was eloquent, but powerful. "You will be put into an underground prison."

"So you're putting _me _in a prison?" she questioned, anger peaking. Kouen looked at her and that was all he needed to do to answer.

"You can't do that! You and I slept together! We shared the same bed!" she shouted.

This earned a cold, hard glare from Kouen. He gave her a very scary look… Even more scary than what he gave Aladdin at one point.

"You were just a tool… an object… something I used for my pleasure when I was drunk. It was a one night occurrence despite what you have been saying recently. That alone has major consequences."

The guards took the woman by her arms.

"You can't do this to me!" she cried out.

"Your execution date is set for next week," Kouen turned his back on her and said no more.

**OH MY DAYS! I am sooo sorry it took soooooooo long for me to update. I hope this story hasn't gone cold for some of you. Question: Did you notice Kouen's true intentions? Do you guys now understand my summary? This chapter should have explained the summary. I noticed that I have many followers, but only 12% of them review. Please try and pitch in ideas. Together, let us make this story successful. Anyway, as usual…**

_**Responses to your reviews:**_

_**Apte: You are the top of my list! I have just grown to appreciate you more and more. I was not disappointed by your review. It was very informative and encouraging. I didn't realize my paragraphing was off. I didn't realize my sentence structure either. In this chapter, I probably have sentence mistakes, but I tried paragraphing, so that shouldn't be too off. I am very sorry this chapter is short, but I was kind of trying to achieve some amount of suspense. If you have any other ideas for the next chapter, PLEASE inform me. Your insight is very, very, very, helpful.**_

_**xX-Nerdy Chick-Xx: My heart warms every time I see a review from you. I am really glad that you make the effort of reviewing on every chapter. THANK YOU!**_

_**Diclonious57: Thank you for the correction. I will try to make it. Thanks for reading!**_

_**Partygirl98: Thank you for the anticipation. It really encourages me!**_

**Anyways, I posted another story. It is for Kuroko no Basuke. If you want, you can hop over to read it. It doesn't have much recognition and it is really discouraging. Despite that, I will try to keep updating that.**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal. – **_Elizabeth Fry

Artemis found herself briskly walking to Kouen's bedroom… notice I said bedroom. Anyway, to cross out any sexual ideas you may be conjuring – No, she wasn't in heat or on a love realization journey.

She had just heard about Kouen's decision to execute Elise. Even though she thought Elise was the scum of the earth, Artemis didn't want that kind of punishment for her. It was way too extreme in her opinion. She couldn't get within a couple of yards from his bedroom, though. There were guards everywhere. Some of them gave her questioning looks. Others have become used to her acquaintance with Kouen. They were a bit startled by her presence this early in the morning, but didn't make any physical move to stop her as she knocked on the door.

"Miss Artemis, I don't think it's wise to disturb him now. He was not in a friendly mood last night," one warned.

"It's an emergency," Artemis answered. Maybe she was just over exaggerating a bit, but whatever. The guard gave her a worried look, but allowed her to knock to her heart's content. Then, hearing no answer, she slowly opened the door and let herself in. The curtains were not drawn back, so it was slightly dark. When Artemis turned around, she was met by a pair of blank crimson eyes. She did a U-turn and squealed. He scared the common sense out of her for a while… if that was even possible. He stood behind her and waited until she came to her senses. Artemis turned around slowly and then looked at Kouen. Her eyes stayed on his goatee. Kouen lifted her chin with his forefinger so that she could meet his eyes. Mentally, Artemis shook her head and pulled herself together. No matter how good looking he was, she wasn't going to cave in.

"Good morning," her jaw was squarely set and she willed herself to look him in the eye.

"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice held no emotion. She felt weird under his gaze. It was as if he was staring into her soul and knew every inch of it.

"I heard about your decision to execute Elise," she said.

As if knowing what she was going to say next, he answered. "That prisoner has committed intolerable crimes not only against the victim, but also the Imperial family. That shall not be tolerated." His voice was cold and impassive. The idea of successfully changing his mind seemed quite dim.

"I get the feeling you're quite blasé to these kinds of things," Artemis took one step backwards.

Kouen looked at her, waiting for the continuation of her speech.

"I personally don't believe executing her is the right thing. I believe in capital punishment, but I also believe in second chances. She deserves execution, I know, but life imprisonment seems to be enough for her to reflect on her actions," Artemis spoke to her heart's content.

"And what if that change you believe in does not occur?" he questioned, taking a step towards her.

"Well then, let her live with the torture of prison life," Artemis answered, not realizing that Kouen was once more close to her.

"And what if she escapes and causes detriment to other people?" he pressed.

"Then I will shoulder the responsibility and kill her myself," she darkly replied, but she meant every word of it.

Kouen was taken aback slightly. This situation caused him to realize that Artemis was the woman he wanted to rule by his side. He didn't care about the love aspect of it. He just wanted to have a woman who suited his taste. He didn't want the women that the Council members chose for him. It was nearing the end of the month so he had to act quickly. He chose his own partner and no one else will defy his choosing… not even the chosen herself.

"I will not execute her, but if she tries anything, I will hold you to your word," he said.

She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you."

Artemis exited his room and the soldiers standing outside gave her curious looks. They all wondered the same thing: Was this Kouen's concubine?

~;~

Artemis was now in the room Asriel was in. She looked down at her friend's unmoving form. She was definitely not going to shed tears. Asriel would skin her alive if she even dared. It had been a good ten minutes since she had been in the room, so she decided to leave. She still had the South wing to cover. The walk wasn't long in her opinion. Maybe it was because she had a lot on her mind. When she began working, time flew by quite quickly, and so did her work. Thinking usually made time and hard work fly by like the very wind. As usual, she stood and admired her work. The library was now clean and neat. The place would still be kind of dusty. It was an underground library for peace sake. Anyway, she completed her tedious task and now, it was time to report to the tedious-task-giver, Koumei.

~;~

It wasn't that difficult to find him. He was usually lounging somewhere. When she found him, she poked him in the cheek.

"I have finished cleaning the library," Artemis announced.

"It's about time," he gave her a small smile.

"Without your help. That's why it took so long," she grumbled.

Judal decided that this was the perfect time to walk in.

"Hey, you're that clumsy maid," he rudely acknowledged.

"I don't believe she can be considered a maid now," Koumei interrupted.

"Oh yeah, she's the lady Entei's interested in," he murmured.

That comment seemed to fly over Artemis's head, so she didn't get the picture. You would think it's only men who were strongly oblivious to these kinds of things, but Artemis has proven this statement wrong.

"Good afternoon," she greeted Judal politely and he grunted in response. He had been on a trip to another province and now, he has returned.

"How was your travel?" Koumei asked him.

"Same as always," Judal clenched his fist. "That idiot king always gets in my way one way or another." He then sat and put both hands behind his head.

Artemis sat down and opened a book. Koumei and Judal continued to converse.

"I take it you had fun," Koumei sarcastically remarked.

"Yeah, fun kicking his soldier's asses," Judal cackled.

"Uh, I'm sorry if I may come off as intrusive but, who are you talking about?" Artemis questioned. Judal's cackle had unnerved her.

"King Sinbad of Sindria," Koumei answered. "I'm sure you've heard of him."

"A.k.a., Idiot King," Judal added.

"Yes, I believe I've met him on one occasion," Artemis opened her book again and continued reading.

"Have you ever been to Sindria?" Koumei asked.

"Yes, but only once," she answered. "I have a distant cousin there."

"I see," Koumei mused.

"Maybe I could go with you the next time," she directed this to Judal.

"Maybe you could," Judal replied. He knew that if she accompanied him, she would also be an enemy of Sindria. That would make things a lot more interesting. She was a woman after all and Sinbad was a womanizer.

"I don't think that will go well with Kouen," Koumei said.

"Don't worry; I'll talk him into it. In fact, I'm leaving this week," Judal smirked.

"I'm not sure I want to bring the wrath of Prince Kouen on me," Artemis dramatically said and used hand motions.

~;~

Artemis found herself in front of Kouen's desk along with Judal. At the moment, Judal was trying to convince Kouen to allow her to come on a trip with him. Kouen impassively stared at the two. After allowing Judal to speak, he turned to Artemis who sheepishly played with her hair.

"Do you want to go?" he asked.

"I wouldn't mind going. I have only been there once and besides, I would really love to see my distant cousin again," she replied.

It took Kouen a while to answer her. He had to calculate the future occurrences.

"You may go," he waved and got back into his work.

Judal and Artemis looked at each other before walking out the door.

A peculiar friendship was being formed between them.

"We leave tomorrow. If you're late, I'll have no regrets leaving you," Judal laid down the rules.

"I thought you were leaving in the week," Artemis said.

"Yea, but I never said when," Judal answered.

"I'm guessing you have an ulterior motive behind all this," Artemis put her hands behind her back.

"Ha, you're not as dumb as you look," Judal mocked.

Artemis sweat dropped. "Anyway, whatever it is, I hope it isn't too farfetched."

~;~

Two days had passed and Artemis and Judal were in the harbor of Sindria. There was a barrier up, but this didn't deter Judal. He took out his wand and blasted it until a small hole appeared.

"Well, that was pretty destructive," Artemis landed on her two feet. The two had travelled by air.

Judal brushed off her comment. Soldiers were already on their tail.

"You go on ahead. I'll take care of these weaklings," Judal smirked. He loved destruction and disturbing the peaceful Sindria was one way he could make himself happy. Artemis jumped up and into the air, deciding it would be wise to do as Judal says. When in the air, she looked down. It had been years since she'd been here, but she could never forget her cousin's humble abode.

The house was covered in decorations that you would find in shrines. It was small and wooden and very simple. It was also closer to the sea. It was something similar to what you would find in Dragon Ball Z. Artemis was a bit agitated. Her magoi was now halved. She walked up to the house while rubbing her shoulders. She didn't realize she was this out of shape.

"Inside," she called out and then knocked. Artemis could hear shuffling about. Then, a middle aged woman stepped out and looked at her keenly.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um.. My name is Artemis. I am here to see Jana," she replied.

"Jana!" the lady screamed to the top of her lungs.

"I'm here… I'm here, you don't have to shout," she grumpily said and came to the door.

Upon seeing Artemis, her mouth gaped open like a fish out of water. She then stumbled over her words.

"A-A-Artemis!" she jumped and enveloped the young woman in a very big hug.

"It's great to see you Jana," Artemis smiled. However, Jana was not. She began crying.

"I thought you were dead. The last time, I heard they arrested you," she let go of Artemis and looked at her. Jana furiously wiped at her eyes and Artemis put a hand on her head.

"It's alright," Artemis smiled. "I'm okay now. I survived."

"If both of you are done with your pity party, can you please go and purchase some bread. I don't know about you, but I'm starving," the woman interrupted the emotional reunion.

"Gee," Jana continued wiping, "Way to interrupt us."

"That's one of m specialties," the woman smiled and headed in the back room.

"Are we going or what," Artemis said to Jana. The young girl nodded.

~;~

Jana decided to show Artemis around. Even though she had been in the country before, it couldn't hurt to introduce her again. The market place was lively and everyone served with a smile, save for a few. There was a lot of chatter and shouting. Everyone here seemed so carefree in Artemis's opinion. Too busy observing the scenery, she didn't notice Jana stop to buy the bread. Instead, she kept walking and observing. Children played hand and ball games along the sides of the walkway and some women unpacked goods. Artemis stopped abruptly only to have someone bump into her back. This person was obviously taller than her, as he or she managed to throw her off balance a bit. She didn't fall, though. That would have made the moment even more cliché than it already was.

"I'm very sorry," she turned around and apologized first.

"It's alright." The person who bumped into her was male. He had long purple hair and golden eyes. She had definitely seen these eyes before. The man then put held his chin and observed her.

"Have I met you before?" he questioned, his eyes seemed to danced with mirth.

"Uhh… I think so. I'm not sure. Pray tell me, what is your name?" Artemis asked.

Before the man could answer, Jana came up behind her.

"Let's go," she pulled Artemis's hand.

"But I'm in a conversation," Artemis replied.

Jana sighed and stood off to the side. She wondered if her cousin, like other women, would end up in Sinbad's bed.

"My name is Sinbad, King of Sindria. And you?" he questioned.

"Artemis," she replied.

Something in Sinbad seemed to tick. "Oh. You're the journalist."

'I was," Artemis corrected.

"My country and I favor your ideals. I've even taken some pointers," he spoke.

The surrounding women glared daggers at Artemis.

"I'm glad you like them. Anyway, I have to get going," she walked away to Jana.

"You can stop at the palace anytime you are free," he added. "I'm sure my advisor would love to chat with you."

Sinbad knew Jafar would love to have an intellectual conversation with a seemingly calm woman. Besides, Sinbad thought he kind of needed it.

* * *

><p><strong>I love all of you so very much. You keep inspiring me and this is why I decided to update quickly. I am sorry that I rushed the Sindria part. I want to achieve a greater goal. Anyway, at the moment, I am really late for something and yet, I am taking the time to thank all my reviewers individually. <strong>

**SugarisMyDrug: My dad is gonna kill me!**

**Artemis: Don't worry. You can redeem yourself… In the next ten years.**

**SugarIsMyDrug: Meanie!**

**Anyway..**

**FrostWingedButterfly: Your review was quite comical. Sorry Elise isn't going to be executed… for now. Thank you for your encouraging support. **

**Guest123: Thank you so much for the review. Yes, I wonder how Artemis is gonna react as well. :D**

**Mitsuyuki-Hime: Yes, I understand you perfectly. Don't worry. In prison, Elise is gonna be taken over by her darkness. Oh and the desires Artemis is talking about is a secret. I can't tell as yet. Hehehe~ Thank you for making a notable effort to review! I really love that.**

**Apte: I will forever love your constructive, helpful criticism. It brings out the best in me. Thank you so much. I bet you're tired of hearing that line, but I truly mean it. I always patiently wait for your review. Hope you liked this chapter.**

**xX-Nerdy ChickxX: I know, but I can't help but worry that people dislike my story and are getting bored. Anyway, yes, people are wondering how Artemis is going to react. I am too… no kidding about that… Hehehe~**

**minchen0897: See… I didn't kill her… as yet. Heehehee~**

**partygirl98: Its alright. Not everyone has to pitch in ideas. Your encouragement is more than enough to fuel my mind. Than k you! :D**

**Almathia: Hahaha.. I never thought about the warning bells… Hmm. Maybe I should Next chapter then. Thank you for your support!**

**Sorry for the mistakes. I kind of rushed this off. Previously mentioned, I am late… LATE LATE! Ahhhh! Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Love isn't something you find. It is something that finds you. - Loretta Young_

"Oh come on," Artemis said, "It won't be that bad. It's very impolite to make such comments about your King like that."

"Oh?" Jana's eyebrow rose, "King Sinbad is a womanizer. I don't trust him with you. Besides, who in their right minds visit a palace to check out its library?"

"Jana, I am not a child and I utilize my brain," Artemis countered. "You don't have to be worried. And I am that kind of person. I love books."

"Okay, then I am coming with you. If he tries to pull anything I won't guarantee I won't pull any punches," she held up her fist.

"You do know that King Sinbad could blow you away without much effort," Artemis pointed out and Jana's fist faltered a bit.

"Don't worry," she then smiled evilly, "If I use you as my shield, he would have no choice but to take the hits like a man."

Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. Her cousin was a nut case, or to put it a bit nicer, a 'special case'.

"Anyway, shall we leave after lunch?" Artemis questioned.

"It's you call to make," Jana shrugged and sat down at the table.

"You two going out again?" the woman, who Artemis had learned her name was Shelly, asked.

"Yes," Jana answered.

"Then buy me some fish," she ordered.

"We're sorry, but we aren't going in that direction. You'll just have to drag your fat ass out of the house and get it," Jana smirked.

"What did you say you little prick?" she held her pot spoon in a dangerous manner.

"N-nothing," Jana sank in her seat.

Artemis could barely hold in her giggle.

"Shut up, you," Jana squinted at her cousin.

They had lunch a little after and to settle their stomachs, Artemis told them stories of the Kou castle.

~;~

"Let's get going, slow poke," Jana called over her shoulder to Artemis.

"Sorry," Artemis slipped out the door. Currently, she wore a usual Indian styled pant and a loose white shirt. Her blue hair was put up in the usual pony tail with the exception of a side bang. It reached to her knees. Yes, her hair was that unbearable.

"Why don't you cut your hair?" Jana asked as they walked. She noted how long and thick Artemis's blue hair was.

"Nah," Artemis shook her head.

"Whatever," Jana left the topic alone. Jana had shoulder length light brown hair so it was quite easy to deal with.

The two passed the market place, despite Jana's claim that they were not going to pass by the area.

"How much longer till we reach the palace?" Artemis asked.

Jana pointed upwards and Artemis took in the view of it. It was a big infrastructure, but not as big as Kou's.

"That's quite the walk," Jana stopped and looked up ahead.

"Then we'll just fly," Artemis took her wand in hand. She used her magoi to allow both of them to fly.

"Never do that again," Jana looked quite green.

"I'm sorry, but I got the impression that you didn't want to walk," Artemis said as both of them walked.

~;~

Jafar was talking to a couple of palace guards when he noticed two women walking leisurely into the palace.

""If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back," he walked towards them to deal with the matter himself.

Artemis noticed Jafar walking towards them first.

"Who let you in?" he asked. They most definitely couldn't get through the gates unless the guards let them through.

"No one, actually," Artemis answered, pushing Jana behind her slightly. If Jana were to open her mouth, things were going to end badly. "You see, I met King Sinbad yesterday and he said I could come by when I was ready."

Jafar's eyebrow rose and Jana could tell what he was thinking. It was a something that almost everyone thought when seeing a beautiful woman ask for Sinbad.

"I'm sorry, he's not available," Jafar lied.

"I strongly believe you're lying, Sir," Artemis spoke without fear or doubt.

"Is everything alright?" Sinbad came just in time. Yes, it was just like one of those cliché movies. Upon seeing Artemis, Sinbad smiled. "Oh, I thought you'd never come."

"Well, as you can see, I'm here," Artemis smiled and then bowed, taking Jana along with her.

"There is no need for the formalities," Sinbad held up his hand.

Jafar watched this transaction with caution.

"This is my advisor, Jafar," Sinbad gestured to the male in green.

"He's an advisor?" Jana opened her mouth… here comes trouble. "I thought he was some kind of monk or priest." Jana's blue eyes were dancing with amusement.

A tick appeared on Jafar's head and Sinbad chuckled. Artemis nudged her cousin in the ribs.

"I'm sorry for my cousin's rude behavior. Her name is Jana by the way," Artemis apologized.

"It's alright," Sinbad motioned for the group to start walking. "Jafar, this is Artemis. I'm sure you've heard of her. She's a journalist."

At the mention of her name, Jafar's facial muscles relaxed and then he looked at her. When reading her work, he would have at least expected her to be in her early forties. She writes as if she has experienced being in a war first hand.

They passed an arena and heard swords clashing and battle cries.

"Would you like to see?" Sinbad asked, noticing the excitement rolling off Jana like heat waves. In Artemis's opinion, that was plain creepy.

"Yes," Jana nodded.

"Um, King Sinbad, if it isn't too bothersome, instead of going to see the arena, may I use your library?" Artemis asked.

"Jafar, take Artemis to the library. I'll stay with Jana," he said.

Jafar gestured for Artemis to follow him. The blue haired female silently complied.

"So, I'm guessing you're fond of my work," Artemis decided to make small talk with him.

"It's puzzling to believe that a young woman such as yourself is so knowledgeable about war," Jafar put a hand to his chin.

"I don't think I'm that much younger than King Sinbad," she chuckled.

"Nowadays, you don't much educated women," Jafar replied. "Especially in Kou."

"I'm guessing what's on your mind is how I became educated," she deduced. "Well, let's just say that I fought for what I wanted and went to many lengths to achieve my goal."

"That's a very cryptic answer," he commented.

"I know," she smiled.

Jafar opened what Artemis presumed was the library door. He drew the curtains back to allow light to illuminate the room. There were lots of shelves packed with numerous amounts of books.

"Impressive," she mumbled. It was almost as big as Kou's. Her eyes took in every book's spine. She walked up to one of the shelves and played with the edge of one of the books.

"You seem to be alright," Jafar made his way to the door. "I'll be back in one hour."

He left before Artemis could respond. When completely alone, she took out the book she was playing with. She intended to read up on the emotions of others. It was rather silly, but she felt she needed to scratch the surface of understanding Kouen's mind. Opening the book, she read the first page. The book came from the fiction section.

_Love can be bold, beautiful, picturesque, panoramic, exciting and much more, but love can also be subtle, delicate, restrained and sometimes even weird. My experience was on the weird side. I thought no love was present in my relationship with my husband, but in actuality, I did not realize my love because it was hidden underneath my utter distaste for my circumstances. Learn to appreciate, and life will be much clearer._

The door opened and this startled Artemis. It was Sinbad.

"Are you getting along well?" he asked, approaching her.

"Yeah, I was just checking some books out," she answered, shutting the book. The title of it was _Everything Is Not What It Seems. _From the first few lines, Artemis thought the title made sense.

"How long will you be staying in Sindria?" he asked.

Artemis sat down, but not before taking another book along.

"I'm not sure," she shook her head.

"If it's sooner than later, you can take the books with you," he offered.

"Thank you," she said. "I mean, if it isn't too much."

"It's not a problem," he sent her a smile.

"King Sinbad," she started, "How did you do it?"

He gave her a questioning look.

"I mean, how did you become King?" she corrected herself.

"Humble beginnings. My family was labeled as an expatriate. I realized the twisted game of war. After making friendships and gaining allies, I was tutored by a great King. I messed up… a lot, but he never gave up on me. I failed Sindria at one point. That's why my goal is to make Sindria a peaceful haven."

"I think you've accomplished your goal," she smiled, "But it's way too early to speak. War isn't a term to be taken lightly and it could take centuries for this to be over."

"I'm well aware," he looked out the window as if he were looking into the future.

"That's why it is in your best interest to serve the people as best as you can, and if you find yourself falling, don't be afraid to ask for help or whatever," she shrugged.

"I'll always keep that in mind," he replied. "And what about you?"

"What?" she questioned.

"How did you become educated? I'm sure you're about my age and from what I know, back in the day, women were not usually educated," he rested his head on a closed fist.

"Well, I came from humble beginnings as well, but not favorable circumstances. Um, I was just determined to be the opposite of my mother. She lived a life of ignorance, so I definitely will not. It was that, and the fact that I loved my dad to death. He was proud of my decisions, but didn't always agree with me disliking my mother. He thought that I should have at least given her some props." That was her trying not to be cryptic.

"I understand," he replied. "But I agree with your father. You should give your mother a little more credit. She's the one who gave birth to you."

"Your words fall on deaf ears," she bluntly spoke.

"Don't worry. My words might penetrate at the most unexpected time," he stood up.

"It's getting quite late, I should head off," Artemis stood as well, taking the books with her.

"You should go before joining me for dinner,' Sinbad offered.

"If Jana's okay with it, then fine," Artemis smiled.

Sinbad finally confirmed his weird behavior. Usually, his womanizing skills would kick in around a fairly beautiful woman, but it wasn't the case with Artemis. She was more like a wise woman in whom he could confide in. The whole idea was messed up. He decided not to try to wrap his head around it.

Some of the other generals decided to join them and dinner was fairly good.

Just like all good things, her visit must come to an end, though.

~;~

"Come on, we have to go. I don't want Entei breathing down my back," Judal caught up with Artemis and Jana, who was slightly tipsy. It turned out that she and Sinbad had much more in common than Jana let on.

"Hey Artemis, who's that? He looks like an ugly monkey with long hair," Jana pointed and laughed.

"What did you say you little prick?" Judal gritted his teeth.

"Are you deaf?" Jana held a sloppy smirk on her face.

"Please excuse my cousin. She's a bit drunk," Artemis smiled while shoving Jana off her shoulder.

"I'm drunk today, I'll be sober tomorrow, but he'll still be an ugly monkey," Jana pointed out in a rather frank manner.

Artemis turned to Jana. "I have to go. I know it's a bit sudden but I don't want to upset people in high places."

"You better visit again," Jana's expression became serious. "I'll throw you into the ocean if you don't."

"I'm sure you will," Artemis chuckled.

"You smile, but I kid not," Jana smiled evilly.

"Are you done talking to this weirdo?" Judal rolled his eyes.

"I guess I am," Artemis hugged Jana and had a difficult time letting go.

"Now go on before the wrath of the Prince descends on you," she wiggled her fingers.

"Good bye," Artemis was literally dragged away.

When they were far enough, Judal began strolling.

"Who was that chick anyway," he grumbled.

"What, are you interested in her?" Artemis teased.

"As if," Judal nearly shouted.

"Whatever you say," Artemis shrugged.

~;~

_Kou_

Artemis walked next to Judal as they entered the gates of Kou. There, in all his glory, stood Kouen. He was fully dressed in uniform and was surrounded by council members.

As he caught sight of Artemis, his eyes never left her. Artemis cast a questioning glance towards Kouen as she approached the group.

"Good afternoon, everyone," she bowed in respect to everyone.

"I'm assuming this is the woman you are talking about," one of the council members stepped forward, assessing Artemis. Her attire wasn't inappropriate and her hair wasn't wild, but he looked at her as if he was just given a bag of barf.

Artemis held her ground under his gaze.

"If you will excuse me, I have to go. I'm very sure I have a lot of things to get done and it would be very selfish of me to inconvenience my superiors this way," she looked at Kouen when she spoke.

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," the council man stood directly in her way. Kouen decided this was the time to step in.

"This is the woman I've chosen to be my queen," he announced loudly enough so everyone could hear. "Her name is Artemis and she is a very wise woman. She puts service before self and that is exactly what this country needs. My decision is final." This was most absolute. Artemis now understood the situation and a deep frown etched itself into her features.

There were a few murmurs within the crowd of council members and after, the presumed leader stepped forth.

"You are royalty, my lord, and it isn't of our wishes that you marry beneath you. We should be focusing on developing ties with other countries and-

The look Kouen gave him was enough to shut him up.

"You gave me the opportunity of finding a wife myself, and I took it. Now if you'll excuse us," he took Artemis by the hand and led her away from the crowd. She limply followed him and when they were in his room, he closed the door.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice sounded distant.

"It is in my best interest to acquire a wife that is suitable to make this country prosper; a wife that will aid me in my goals and in turn, my country," he explained, even though he didn't have to.

"That's how it is, huh. I am not in favor of it. I believe-

"You believe in love?" his expression remained impassive. "For most people, love does not occur. It is just a figment of human desires and not important in the long run. If you hadn't noticed, most people run away with the prospect of love only to find themselves in the pit of misery when their 'love' is put to the test."

Artemis looked at the ground. The situation he described was similar to her parents. They thought they were in love… had a kid then BAM!

"I'll do it," Artemis quietly responded and Kouen expected it. Everything was going just as he had planned it. "But I'd prefer you don't converse with me from now on. I just think that I need time to prepare my mind. I may not fully understand your situation, but I know it can be very pressuring to be royalty. You must be going through great lengths to have me by your side."

She turned around and left. Kouen did not expect that part, but things were still going his way. He couldn't deny the slight feeling of regret he was feeling. This was only slight though. When compared with the greater picture, it was but a rice grain.

~;~

Artemis didn't start a cry fest or cry about her feelings. She didn't start a hate committee within herself or for Kouen. She immersed herself with work instead. She wrote and wrote. It wasn't till half past three in the morning that she fell asleep.

Someone knocked at her door and this woke her up. Was she tired? Yes. Was she upset? Kind of. Did she want to answer the door now? No.

"Good morning dear. How-

Alma stopped when she saw Artemis.

"Geez, you look really extremely tired," she breathed and walked in. "You shouldn't look this way. You're Prince Kouen's fiancée now."

It was only then that Artemis noticed the rack of clothes Alma was carrying.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep last night," Artemis rubbed her tired eyes.

'That explains why you woke up late," Alma looked around. 'You can sleep for a bit more. Prince Koumei doesn't have anything planned for you today.

Alma didn't continue speaking as Artemis was already in bed snoring away.

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><p><strong>Hello again everyone! I'm glad I could have updated again. The small paragraph I wrote about love was completely spontaneous and I'm sorry if it seems crappy. It was off the top of my head. Anyway, I have exams for the next two weeks so I cannot update for a while. I really don't want to fail. If I could, I wish I could just forget about exams. Anyway, would love to hear your ideas, corrections and encouragements. I notice I have a lot of followers, but half of them don't want to tell me what's on their mind. I hope you are all satisfied though.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Anyway, I will take this time to advertise my partner's story again. Her name on FF is AnimeFreak145. She has two Magi stories; one for Sinbad and one for Kouen. I think they are pretty good. :D<strong>

**Minchen0897: Yeah... I guess it is. I don't know what to do with Elise now, but I will figure it out.**

**Mrganclaire1: Thank you for reading my story. I appreciate it! As you continue to watch Magi, you will develop a greater appreciation for it. Don't worry.**

**Partygirl98: Hahaha! I would go as far as to say my story is the best Magi story on the site. There's my partner animeFreak145. She's writing two Magi stories. You should check them out. They are really good!**

**Almathia: I am planning that, but I didn't want to include it in this chapter. Maybe next one. Thanks for your input. I greatly appreciate it.**

**xX-NerdyChickXx: Hahah! I get them from Brainy Quote. They are very useful, so yeah. I just love a good quote… who doesn't?**

**SchokoDelphin: I am very sure I've seen your name on a review list for a Tokyo Ghoul story. Are you into Tokyo Ghoul? I think it's Awesome!**

**Apte: Last, but certainly not least, you are a great encouragement. I'm glad we have a fanfiction friendship going on here as well. I highly regard your comments. I literally wait for them. Hahaha! Hope you love this chapter and if you have any ideas, tell me. :D **


	10. Chapter 10

_Spontaneity has its time and place. – Arthur Frank Burns_

It had been days since the shocking revelation took place. Artemis had put her thoughts together already, but talking to Kouen probably wouldn't be wise as yet. Now that she was his fiancée, she wasn't bound by any work, but still, she opted to do chores. The palace guards wouldn't leave her alone! It was absolute madness… a madness Artemis just couldn't get used to. Occasionally, she would have thoughts of going outside the palace walls. When she was younger, she never had the opportunity to visit the city. She only knew country life and that in and of itself was quite lonely. Her mind was made up. She would visit the city.

"Is there something wrong, Lady Artemis?" the guard who was watching over her questioned.

"It's Arty… just Arty. And yes, I am fine." She paused for a moment before asking, "Would it be possible for me to visit the city tomorrow?"

The guard looked to the side, an uneasy expression on his face. "Um, you would have to speak with Lord Kouen about it."

"May you please tell him for me?" Artemis asked. "I am not ready to face him yet."

The guard visibly shuddered at the mere notion of talking to his lord. Artemis noticed this and rolled her eyes, but a small smile lingered near her lips.

"Listen, you don't have to be so afraid of royalty. No matter how much they may think it, they aren't above anyone… at least that's my opinion. They eat, sleep, hopefully bath, and use the bathroom just like us. Yes, respect them, but you're a person too." Artemis finished her small speech with an even wider smile. Kouen was right around the corner, and stood to listen to her words. He smiled as if sizing up her speech. He then headed the other way, respecting her previous wishes.

Artemis led the soldier away and he didn't leave her side till she had had dinner and was safely settled in her room. Now surrounded by peace and quiet, Artemis stretched before taking out her journal. Because she was now of a different status, Kouen wanted her to move into his family's quarters, but she refused. She wanted to remain at a place where she could keep her sanity. He decided to let her have her way. You might think that she was beginning to portray a spoiled brat. That was definitely not the case, though. She really liked it here and she was far from ready to give it up. She then began writing.

~;~

A soldier had come to tell her that her request was approved. Artemis was a bit shocked. It was either Kouen was in a good mood, or he was trying to get _her _in a good mood.

"Are you ready to go?" the guard asked. She had had breakfast already and was dressed decently. Shrugging, she didn't see why not. The horses were prepared but Artemis preferred to walk. It would give her an even better view of the city. The accompanying soldier had second thoughts about it so they came to a compromise.

"Okay, fine. We'll take the carriage until we get to a certain point," Artemis smiled as she saw satisfaction spread across his face. Nothing beats a good solution.

As agreed upon, they rode until a certain point and then stopped. Artemis was most excited. She would see in depth, the city of Kou.

"We will take the horses from now on," the guard informed and Artemis complied.

Artemis nodded and they began their journey. If it was one thing, Kou's city was huge. It wasn't as colorful as Sindria, but it was definitely something. There were soldiers along the sides of the streets maintaining order. Everything was basically in order. There were few socializing citizens on the sidewalks and children were advised to walk and not run through the streets. There were a lot of stone buildings.

"Impressed?" the guard caught her looking up at the tall buildings.

"Personally, I've seen better, but they are huge," Artemis replied.

"It took a lot of effort to get this empire where it is," he spoke.

"I can imagine. I only read a book about it, but I don't believe mere words can relate the hard work and effort that was put into all this," Artemis continued looking around.

"You speak with a lot of eloquence. It's a wonder why you're not a public speaker," said the guard. He was leading the horse.

"I'm not the best at speaking in front of crowds," Artemis rubbed the back of her head and smiled awkwardly.

"Then maybe you should learn," the guard smiled.

Everything seemed fine. That was, until a couple of slave drivers came onto the scene. They're faces were set in a very mean way and their gaudy swords hung from their waists. One look and Artemis could tell they were punks. She could never fear people like them. A deep frown etched itself into her features. Slave drivers were the worst. The soldier noticed her change in demeanor.

"Even though it's morally wrong, there's nothing you can do about it. The laws of Kou say that the slave drivers have rights," he explained.

Artemis stopped to observe the scene before her. The slave masters and merchants whipped a small girl, leaving bright red marks on her pale skin. She cried and got into place.

"Slaves have rights too," she whispered, but loud enough for the soldier to hear.

"There are rights for them too, but no one obeys them," he shrugged.

"Are they allowed to do that?" she pointed at the scene. "Whip children for nothing?"

The guard didn't say anything and Artemis knew that she was right. She readied the horse and left the poor soldier behind.

"Hey! Wait!" he shouted after her, but she was already in the merchants' line of sight.

Hoping from her horse, she landed a bit ungracefully.

"Who're you," one of them looked her up and down.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Artemis stepped up to them, close enough that she could smell the liquor emanating from their beer guts. "You have no right to beat those children like that."

"Yeah?" one, presumably the leader questioned. "And who are you to tell us what to do? They're my property and I can do whatever I please."

"Stop beating them," she said dangerously.

"And who's gonna make me?" he asked and that was when all the other beer guts joined in with a chorus of laughter.

Artemis utilized her magic to open the cage, setting the children free, while the men laughed. When they stopped, they noticed that Artemis had all five children on her side. One of them couldn't walk, so she held him.

The guard caught up with her and looked terrified at the situation.

"It's okay. I can take them," Artemis turned around and handed the child to him. "Make sure their safe."

"But –

"It's alright. I'm stronger than you think," she reassured him again.

Using her light magic, she made multiple copies of herself. It was an illusion of course. The men looked confused at first, but then, getting the big picture, they pulled their swords out and started to slash at every one of them.

"Gee, you guys are no fun," Artemis smiled and hit one of them behind the neck. This caused him to lose balance. Another one came her way and she hit his ear. He too, fell. The series of attacks continued and Artemis noticed that her magoi stamina wasn't too impressive. There was one left and she was quite exhausted. Nevertheless, she used light rays as a sort of flash blinding and delivered her favorite neck chop. She then leaned forward and put her hands on her knees.

"Gee, if I knew I was this horrible, I would have run away," Artemis wiped sweat from her brow.

Walking back to carriage, she got an ever more in depth look at Kou. Some children and even older folks sat on the walk ways begging. The lines for food collection were extremely long. Some women walked along the side walks with many children trailing behind them. Artemis guessed that they were wives of the veterans of the war.

~;~

The children sat in the carriage. All their faces looked down and dreary except for the boy who couldn't walk. He was making small talk with the soldier. All eyes were turned on her when she arrived. The moment could have been more awkward.

"Uh… I really don't know what I'm going to do now. It's the first time in a long time that I've ever spontaneously acted on my feelings. I-

"My lady, don't worry. I will explain to the Prince what happened," the soldier assured. He was finding his voice and that made her smile.

Along the way home, she contemplated her position. Is this what she wanted to be? The queen of war, so to speak? Is this what Kouen was forcing her to be? After what she saw today, it would be very hard to turn her back on helping the less fortunate. Because of lack of money, many people do many strange and shameful things. She knew first hand because her mother was one of them.

Contrary to what she was thinking, the guard next to her thought she would make a great queen. He thought that she could be the one to fill in what Kouen lacked. From what he had heard, both of them were intellectual. From what he has observed is both of them had differences and lacked something that the other had. To him, this marriage was not a bad idea and he hoped that Artemis would realize that.

~;~

"You did what?" Koumei asked Artemis after she explained the situation.

"I acted without thinking of the future, but I can't turn my back on them. I have to take responsibility and find them a home," she replied.

"And I'm very sure you haven't spoken to Entei about this," he deduced.

'No," she answered.

"You need to talk to him sooner or later. It's unlike you to hold grudges," Koumei said.

"I'm not holing any grudges," she pointed her nose in the air.

They walked through the halls as they spoke.

"Are you okay?" Koumei asked, looking at Artemis carefully. She had a slash at the base of her throat and she looked tired and drained. He silently scolded himself for not noticing earlier. Kouen decided to bend the corner at the right time. Artemis looked up and then down. She then sighed. She couldn't keep avoiding him.

"Good evening," she bowed in respect but when she proceeded to come back up, she ended up falling backwards. You would have almost expected it to be a cliché moment in which she falls forward and Kouen catches her, but in fact, both brothers stare at her for a good two minutes before Kouen took her up. Why did they do that? Who knows… One of the random mysteries of life.

Kouen didn't proceed to her room, though. He took her to his room and on the way, Koumei explained Artemis's dilemma.

~;~

Artemis stirred. She could feel someone watching her. This made her reluctant to open her eyes. Kouen looked at her, knowing she was conscious.

"I'm screwed, aren't I," she said without opening her eyes. Kouen didn't answer and that confirmed it… at least that's what she believed. She heard his footsteps circle around to her side and then stop. She peaked up at his face. It betrayed no emotions but yet, she knew he had many things to say. His hand reached forward to touch the base of her neck.

"Who did this to you?" he asked.

"Did what?" she looked down at her neck. His hand was still in place. "I'm sure you know already. I believe Koumei enlightened you."

She looked up again to see that he was actually waiting for her to give him the right answer.

"Okay, I acted spontaneously, got into a fight with some slave traders and merchants and then freed the children. I know I'm wrong and I need you to tell me what to do. I'll do anything but put them back on the market."

Kouen looked satisfied with her answer, so he removed his hand from her.

"The laws of Kou gives them a right to their slaves," he spoke.

"Yeah, but aren't they a little too young?" Artemis sat up.

"They are prisoners from the war," Kouen replied. "They are here because their land lost to us."

"Prince Kouen, with all due respect, they are children. They shouldn't be dragged into this because a bunch of old men can't resolve their problems peacefully. I'm sounding very weird right now, but so let it be. I looked around the city and I clearly see the effects of war. Children go without fathers and wives go without husbands. The poor keep getting poorer and the rich keep getting richer." She was breathing heavily when she finished. "To many countries, war has proven to be detrimental."

"Our country is fighting for the greater good," he simply replied. "You should be able to understand that."

"I do, but you should at least try to do something about the children and young people," she responded.

"That's what I have you for," he said. "Two great minds put together can make something greater."

"I know," was all she said and sank into silence.

"About the slave children, they will come to work in the palace under the head maid until they can branch out into different fields," he proposed the solution.

"That's not a bad idea," she smiled a genuine smile at him. He hadn't seen that in a long time.

_Only in spontaneity can we truly be who we are_, says John Mclaughlin. And Artemis was truly put on this earth to help people.

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><p><em><strong>Okay, I decided to do a quick one before Monday because I just love the feedback. It makes me blush a lot!. Monday is the beginning of exams. Anyway, I really hope I could update in between. Time management isn't that good on my part. Oh, and does anyone think I should make a Tokyo Ghoul fan fiction? I am seriously thinking about it. Anyway, here are the responses.<strong>_

_**xX-Nerdy Chick-Xx: hahahaha! I wasn't expecting that reaction either. It was spontaneous… I guess this chapter was about spontaneity as well huh… Thanks for the review!**_

_**Flamefoxvixen: Your review knocked the living day lights out of me. I love that you think my story is good. It is really encouraging. Please continue to support and no matter how unimportant my mistakes may seem, please don't hesitate to point them out. I will try my best to correct them if I have time. THANK YOU! :D**_

_**Partygirl98: It is definitely not a problem for you to point out my mistakes. I love when people do that. It gives me more encouragement. Please do anything you have to do. As for exams, I am so worried! I made the effort to update again though. I love my viewers too much. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. **_

_**Almathia: I get where you're coming from. I find it was a bit rushed, but I hope that this chapter was a bit better. Thank you so much for pointing that out. I'll make sure I take my time next time. :D**_

_**Minchen0897: Hopefully they will marry. :D haha! I added something for you to think about. **_

_**Guest123: Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you like the idea od Artemis being in Sindria. Please, feel free to leave another review! Thank you!**_

_**Diclonious57: Yeah.. it wasn't. Oh well, I hope this chapter kind of brings things out of the not-romantic zone a bit…. Just a bit.**_

_**SchokoDelphin: Yes, I have read OffLimits. It is really good. If you support the idea of me making a TG ff, then I will. I love it so much. Thank you for your review! :D**_

_**The full saying for the title is Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori. It means It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country. It is a poem that describes the soldiers' painful moments. The title is completely contradicting the poem. If any of ou have time, you could go read it. **_


	11. Chapter 11

_Feelings are hard to hide. Being oblivious to them will not make them any less obscure. It will surface. Do not worry. – _By Yours Truly (Which is SugarIsMyDrug btw)

As Kouen walked to his study, he swiftly motioned for the guard who was present with Artemis earlier, to follow him. Bewildered, the guard tried to keep up with his master's aggravated stride. Kouen came to an abrupt halt and the poor soldier almost bumped into him. You could imagine how the soldier felt as Kouen turned around and pierced him with a deadly gaze.

"I'm sorry, sir!" the soldier trembled as he bowed. "L-Lady Ar-Artemis instructed m-me to stay w-with the children at that time, Sir."

Kouen's gaze did not let up.

"So you are familiar with the faces of the culprits?" he more or less asked.

"Y-yes, sir," he answered shakily. He could not lie.

"Kill them," those two words were short, but held the impact of two elephants. The soldier panicked. There was no Artemis around the corner to appease Kouen's wrath at the moment. This was something he _had _to do.

~;~

After Kouen left her, she tried to fall into slumber once more. This proved difficult, though, and she got up and headed out the door. She took her blue blanket with her and wrapped it close to her body. It was as if Kouen's company was drawing her in like a magnet. It wasn't long before she reached his study. Despite needing rest, he would most likely be up planning a rendezvous or something. As expected, he was in his study, but what was unexpected, was that he was sleeping. His body reclined in his chair and his head was leaned back. This made his goatee stick out. As mentioned sometime earlier in the story, she thought his goatee was handsome, though unpopular. Artemis tip toed closer. It wasn't everyday you got the opportunity to see Kouen in a vulnerable state. Unwrapping the blanket from her body, she placed it over his shoulders. It covered his chest. This action put her in an awkward position, though. She gently backed away and headed for the door.

"You don't have to go," he said, which startled her a bit.

"I see you're awake," she turned around and a small smile played on her lips. Kouen said nothing as he got up and took one long stride towards her. He stopped in front of her and took one good look at her as if to make sure she was fully alright.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to see if you were awake. Kind of stupid since I am the one who said I needed space," she rubbed her forearm.

"If you can't sleep, you can stay with me," Kouen said. "I have work to finish." He then proceeded to his chair once more.

Artemis held his forearm. This caused him to stop and look back. She hesitated a bit for his arm was in no way under developed. His muscles felt good in her grasp. Standing on her toes, she put a hand to his forehead.

"You work yourself too much. You have a slight fever," she said, removing her hand, but as she was removing her hand, he held it in place.

"Prince Kouen-

"Kouen," he corrected, "Call me by my name."

"K-Kouen," it felt awkward to her, "You're still human. You need rest and care just like anyone else on this earth… well at least most people."

"I see where you're coming from, but I cannot avert my duties for a minor fever," he replied.

"You and I both know that's absurd. Small things lead to bigger things," she countered. "Rest, just for tonight."

Kouen said nothing, but allowed her to lead him away. She knew exactly where his room was, and she was determined to put him to rest… not eternal rest, but temporary, needed rest.

The on lookers gushed and commented on how impossible they thought it was to touch Kouen.

Artemis ignored them and walked straight into Kouen's royal room. She shut the door and leaned on the back of it. Sighing, she looked up at Kouen who was already lighting the lamps.

"Alright, now you are going to bed," she pointed at the bed. Kouen allowed her to stand pointing at the bed for about 30 seconds before responding.

"I usually take a bath before going to bed," he casually said, walking to gather his stuff. She was his future wife, so she needed to know these things.

"Um, o-okay," she stuttered at a thought.

Kouen stepped into his personal bathroom and shut the door. This allowed Artemis to have some quiet time. She awkwardly stood in place until he was finished. He came out smelling like assorted fruits. It wasn't a tangy smell; it was a sweet, inviting smell. She suddenly felt even more awkward as she was assessing his scent. Kouen blinked a couple of times. Usually, women would jump at the chance to be in his bed, but as he had already known, Artemis couldn't be categorized as the average woman. To be more specific, she wasn't to be categorized as a woman who was infatuated with him.

"I'm not leaving until you fall asleep," Artemis sort of blurted that out.

Kouen lifted a small white towel to his red hair. It was only then that Artemis realized he was half naked. Doing a small squeal, she turned around. As you would have probably noticed, she was embarrassed by these things. The corner of Kouen's lips lifted a little and he came up behind her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he bent down to her ear.

"If you want to make sure I go to sleep, it would be wise if you keep a good eye on me," he said. This got Artemis flustered up to her ears. Kouen knew exactly what he was doing.

"B-but-

Kouen chuckled a bit before heading back into the bathroom. At that moment, he realized she was inexperienced. This piece of information would provide such a tease in the long run. A few minutes after, he stepped out of bathroom dressed in a robe. Artemis heard his footsteps and turned around. She was relieved that he was sort of dressed. She didn't consider throwing on a silk robe fully dress, but it was better than a white towel. Kouen silently lay down in bed and Artemis walked towards him slowly.

"Lucky for you, I happen to know ancient massage techniques that help with stress or fever or whatever," she said. "I know you have your people to do this, but allow me to do the honors."

Kouen did not voice any disapproval and he proceeded in doing what she said to do. What was most disturbing… distracting… whatever you wanted to call it was, in order to massage him, he needed to take his robe off his shoulder and back. This had Artemis flustered but as she started, her hands met with lots of 'stress knots'. This caused her focus to be entirely trained on what she was doing.

"I thought you got massages often," she said as she continued to work on his shoulders.

'I haven't had the time," he answered. What she was doing felt good and sent blood rushing to more than just his muscles.

"Then you should make the time," she advised. He sort of loved the sound of her voice.

Kouen said nothing. The silence was gratefully accepted as Artemis continued to do her work.

"Gee, that was quiet the workout," Artemis straightened her back and wiped her brow. It took a lot of concentration to get to the right parts. Kouen noticed that as he sat up, he felt a bit lighter and his movements were quicker.

"The technique I used is an ancient Torran technique. I learned it while I was in Magnostad," she enlightened.

"I see," Kouen rounded his shoulders and curled his fists. "How much do you know about the Torran people?"

"Not much," she shook her head.

Honestly, Kouen didn't know whether to believe her or not.

"Now you won't feel fatigued as much," she stretched her limbs. She tried her best not to stare too long at his abdominal muscles. They were impeccable. Any woman, intelligent or not, could see that Kouen was very pleasing to the eye.

"I presume you still aren't able to sleep," he gave her a dead pan stare.

"Pshh…" she made a sound, "Okay, you got me, but deprive myself of sleep regularly. I had enough of that in Magnostad; pulling all-nighters and all."

"You can join me if you want to," he nonchalantly said, but this had Artemis flustered.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I should head back to my own room," she nervously inched to the door and quickly exited.

Kouen shrugged then lay back on his pillow and easily enough, he fell asleep. In his opinion, that woman was really something.

~;~

Artemis couldn't get last night's occurrences out of her mind. She wasn't used to these kinds of things. Was Kouen actually trying to get her in his bed? Or was it something else? Maybe he genuinely just wanted company. Artemis's shoulders slumped as she made her way to Koumei.

"Good morning," she greeted Koumei.

"Morning," he replied. "I don't have anything for you to do today."

"I figured," she sat opposite of him.

"The children you brought in yesterday are fine and they should be ready to serve by tomorrow," he informed.

"Yeah… You know Kou. No time wasting," she chanted.

"What got you waking up on the wrong side of the bed?" he questioned.

"I'm just confused," she was very straight forward. "First Prince Kouen forces me into marriage and then he shows concern for my well being."

"I'm guessing it's because he isn't used to meeting women like you. A lot of women around him only want him because he's a Prince and for his looks. Most of them can't even read, much more, hold an intellectually interesting conversation with him," Koumei tried to explain.

"So it's because I'm different, huh," she mused.

"More or less," he shrugged. "Don't worry too much. It's very hard to get my brother's attention."

"I see," she smirked, "But it's not very hard for him to get a pretty woman in bed."

Koumei sweat dropped. "Ever since he met you, I don't think my brother has had a mistress."

"If you're trying to make me feel special, it's not working," she deadpanned

"That wasn't my intention. What I wanted to do was make calm you. Don't worry," he smiled.

"Don't try to make me out as one of those jealous types," she folded her arms.

"I'm not sure about that one. Are you?" Koumei smirked.

"I'm not," she said firmly.

"I've never gotten a chance to ask you, but," he paused, "Are you interested in my brother?"

"Romantically?" she asked.

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence.

"I don't… know," she answered, unsure of where she stood. "I don't think so at least."

"That's a shame," Koumei shook his head slightly and smiled.

"Anyway, I want to go check up on the children," she stood up.

"You already sound like a mother," Koumei teased.

"That's not funny," Artemis smiled and came out of the room.

~;~

The children were currently being treated. The palace wanted to make sure they were getting potentially healthy children. Artemis didn't care though. She was happy that they wouldn't be on the streets or in slavery anymore.

"Hey, are you alright?" Artemis stooped low enough to look one of the little boys in his eyes. He had steel grey eyes and dusty black hair.

"Yes," he nodded. At that moment, she was reminded of one of the reasons why she loved children. She stood to full height and ruffled his hair.

"What's your name?" she then asked.

"I don't have one… none of us do," he answered, perfectly at ease with having no name.

"No problem, I'll just have to give you names," she smiled. The doctor who was taking care of them gave her an incredulous look. He didn't understand why it would be important for a slave to have a name.

"Your name will be," she put a finger to her chin and hummed, "Krishna."

The boy nodded, gratefully accepting the name he had been given.

There was another child, a girl, who had nearly the same appearance as Krishna. Her knotty black hair was shoulder length and her grey eyes looked at Artemis.

"You two look like siblings, so I will name you Kasha," she smiled. Despite her horrible naming skills, she knew the children wouldn't disagree. At least, that was what she thought.

"Can I be named Cat, or Danger, or-

"Hey, slow down there buddy," Artemis held up her hands to signal for the little blonde boy to stop. His brown eyes surveyed her features. She stopped in front of him. "I think I'll name you Rohan."

"Why?" he whined. "I wanna be named Super Guy."

"I named you Rohan because you're cute, and I used to know a Rohan as well," Artemis smiled.

Rohan pouted which caused Artemis to chuckle. There were two other girls and both were named Jasmine and Kira.

"Now that you all have names, I hope you remember them well," Artemis advised.

"We will," Krishna answered.

With that, Artemis left. While walking, she pondered on the state of the part of the city she visited. Many people were hungry and the nobility wouldn't even cast them a second glance. Then, it was decided. She would help them. Kouen probably thought she would sit on her backside and let everything be handed to her by the servants. That would in no way happen.

~;~

Artemis had gathered her team of helpers. It consisted of a few soldiers, two cooks, five helper boys, and quite a few utensils.

"Alright everyone, we're going to cover a certain part of the city. I don't know which part yet but we are going to do our uttermost." She announced.

"So you're leading everyone into oblivion?" Kouha came out of nowhere; he and his three lady servants with him.

Artemis sweat dropped. "Gee, well if you put it that way, you make the situation sound bad."

"Why are you doing this anyway?" Kouha asked. He was quite puzzled. Why would she want to give _extra_ help to the peasants?

"Because there are people out there who are hungry. If you want a great nation, you can't have some of the population being hungry," Artemis responded.

"Suit yourself," Kouha shrugged. "I'm gonna tag along though. I have to complete an unfinished job."

"Alright," Artemis was slightly scared now and slowly inched away. Kouha's dogs were still fresh in her mind.

Kouen looked from a nearby window and saw Artemis addressing a group of people. It looked as if they were heading into the city. He didn't make any move to stop her, though. He knew that this was her nature. In that light, she was different from the women around him. Not many women he knew would do what she was doing, and that was a fact. Anyway, besides that, he had sent the soldier on a personal execution mission and he failed. It was quite weird. Things like this never got to him, but those fools needed to be punished. From what he's heard, they weren't even citizens of Kou. They were from Partevia. He held no remorse in this situation. Besides, they hurt his future queen. What more reason could he need? That alone is the death penalty. Another question arose in his mind. Why did he need a reason to kill? He didn't have to answer to anyone. Then, at that moment, Artemis popped up. Not physically, but mentally. He thought about what her reaction would be. Sighing, he walked away. That woman was doing him both good and harm.

~;~

The group was currently setting up. There was already a line of people eagerly waiting for their share. Artemis contemplated on whether she should say anything to them… you know, like an introduction to what they were doing. Then, the thought of public speaking made her shrink back.

"Arty, we're ready to start," one of the soldiers said. She had successfully convinced them to call her Arty. Don't ask how.

"Alright, let's get started," she spoke.

So, the food sharing began and Artemis was met with many smiling faces. It made her smile inside. She finally had the power to help other people. She was not going to let her dad down. She wasn't going to be like her useless mother.

The sun was beginning to set, making the sky look orange. It was very beautiful in Artemis's opinion. She strolled away from the cluster of people and casually looked around. Children who had gotten their share waved at her. Now, many people knew who she was. She strolled further, temporarily forgetting that there were people behind her. The peace didn't last for very long though. Something made the hairs on her arms and neck stand up. She stopped and looked back, expecting to see someone following her. However, no one was there and so, she kept on walking. There was a small avenue in front of her. On either side of it, there were small waterfalls and it was grassy. To her, it was well kept. Then, out of nowhere, a presence came up a few feet behind her. She was fully aware of the pure evil it possessed and there was no doubt that-

"Hello again," the voice started out sweetly, "My dear daughter." The voice finished with an ugly drawl.

~;~

Kouen began to feel unsettled. Artemis and her team weren't back yet and the sun was setting. Maybe it was a very long line of people that held them back. Yes, it was weird for him to worry. That woman was slowly peeling his callousness away and she didn't even know it. He decided to sit it out though. He knew she could take care of herself. She had proven that a long time ago.

~;~

Artemis stood, frozen in her tracks. She couldn't believe her ears. She couldn't even will herself to turn around. The person behind her had the voice of her mother's. But it could never be her mother's. Her mother was dead, or at least that was what she was told. Her mother died in a horrible accident.

"Aren't you going to turn around and face mother?" she asked, her voice still in a dreadful tone.

Slowly, Artemis turned around and regret started to build up inside her. Black ruhk swarmed around her. This could not be happening. Just as she was about to face the cloaked lady fully, the sound of Kouha's voice dispelled whatever was there.

"Artemis," he called out, "It's time to go."

Said woman breathed out a relieved sigh and looked at Kouha.

"What's gotten into you?" Kouha asked as he walked nearer to her.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she straightened her posture and walked in the direction he was in. She was glad he showed up. Actually, she was very relieved.

"What exactly did you come into the city for anyway?" she asked as they walked side by side.

"I had to run some errands," he shrugged.

"Wow, you're so small but you have so many responsibilities. I guess it's not easy being royalty after all," Artemis commented. All her life, she felt that the higher ups had easy, breezy lives and could do whatever they want whenever they wanted to. Okay, the last part was kind of true, but their lives were anything but easy.

"I'm not little," Kouha retorted.

"Whatever you say," Artemis smiled. In no time, they regrouped and were on their way back to the castle. Artemis couldn't help but ponder on what had happened earlier. She was sure that her mother died. So who was this person? Was it really her mother? Or was it a poser? She let out a sigh. This was going to be harder than any math problem she faced.

~;~

"How was it?" Kouen asked Artemis as she entered his study. She contemplated on whether or not she could tell him of the weird occurrence. She knew she could, but would it be wise? Kouen would probably go on a hunt for the woman. Then again, this woman, or thing, or whatever it may be, can be a possible threat to the Kou society.

"It was okay. At least the beginning," she started. She didn't want to put innocent citizens at risk, but then again, she didn't want Kouen to go all out. It might just be a figment of her imagination.

"Well, at the end the people were sad and I really didn't want to leave," Artemis didn't really tell a lie. It was true. She didn't want to leave.

"That's what made the ending bad?" he asked.

"Yea," she replied.

Kouen watched her from where he sat. She walked among the books and looked at them, probably trying to pick which one she was going to read next. Her hair was up in a pony tail, as usual, and she was dressed in her usual attire. When she looked up, her eyes met his.

"Hey, why don't we go somewhere tomorrow, like the ruin that archeologist recently stumbled upon." she suggested, suddenly finding her shoes more interesting than his face. "Well, that's if you have time. I mean with all the-

"Sure," he answered, cutting her off. She looked at him, a bit surprised, but the corners of her mouth broke into a smile. She could use this time to get her mind off of things. Hakuei knocked and entered the study. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Artemis was there.

"Good night, Artemis," she greeted with a smile.

"Good night," Artemis returned the smile. "I should go," she pointed her thumb at the door. "Good night."

Kouen bid her farewell.

"I was sent to remind you of your meeting tomorrow," Hakuei announced.

"Tell them I won't be able to make it," he replied. "I have other duties to take care of."

"You mean going out with Artemis?" she asked, but knew the answer to her question.

Kouen didn't reply. He just continued with his work. To be able to have an outing with Artemis, he had to get all his paperwork out of the way.

"She really is special," Hakuei deduced and Kouen still did not reply. "Usually, women would already be in your chambers. What makes her so different?"

~;~

Artemis prepared adequately for the outing. She wore a casual outfit and her hair was down. Yes, she managed to get it down as neatly as possible… with Alma's help of course. Her blue bangs remained on the left side of her face and the right side was put back. To Alma, she looked really pretty.

"You had better tell me everything," Alma said. "You should also be very grateful. Prince Kouen has taken the time out just to be with you."

"I know. I'll try to make it worthwhile, but there are some things we need to discuss," Artemis sighed.

Alma patted her on the back. "You're definitely something."

"So I've been told," Artemis shrugged. "I'll go see how he's doing."

"Alright dear," Alma waved.

Along the way, Artemis continuously patted down her disobedient strands of hair. She stopped suddenly as she heard voices around the corner. It was Kouen and Hakuei.

"Are you sure you're not coming to the meeting?" Hakuei asked him once more. She wanted to make sure he was serious about what he said the previous night.

"I'm quite sure," he replied indifferently.

"Mother will be cross," she added.

Kouen didn't reply.

Artemis heard just about everything. This made her sigh. Why did Kouen not tell her he had a meeting? She would have never suggested the outing.

After Hakuei departed, Artemis walked up to Kouen. He too, was casually dressed; not in armor or anything. He wore a white dress shirt with sleeves that stopped at his mid bicep. It showed off his strong arms quite well.

"Good morning," she greeted. "Why didn't you tell me you had a meeting?" She got straight to the point.

"It wasn't worth mentioning. I'd much rather go on the trip. Some good information could be salvaged from it," he sounded casual about it.

"If Princess Hakuei advises you to be there, then it's wise to be present. You are the First Prince after all," she gave him a small smile.

Kouen looked at her seriously before turning to walk away. When he did this, Artemis felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. She didn't know if he was upset or disappointed. Why was she feeling like this? Prince Kouen may be her fiancé, but she held no emotional attachment to him other than being acquaintances. Sighing for what felt like the fiftieth time today, she made her way to her room. Maybe she could do some reading today; clear her mind a bit. The book she had borrowed from the Sindrian library was literally catching dust on her night stand.

~;~

Artemis lay faced up on her bed and grabbed the book. She read the first paragraph again. It stood out to her a lot.

_Love can be bold, beautiful, picturesque, panoramic, exciting and much more, but love can also be subtle, delicate, restrained and sometimes even weird. My experience was on the weird side. I thought no love was present in my relationship with my husband, but in actuality, I did not realize my love because it was hidden underneath my utter distaste for my circumstances. Learn to appreciate, and life will be much clearer._

_My journey with him started when I was introduced in a marriage interview. Both sides of the family, mine and his, were adamant on being joined together. They said it would be good for business, but wasn't that the reason behind every arranged marriage? Such occurrences were common and probably will still remain in the years to come. Anyways, we were married soon after. Usually, for married couples, the atmosphere between them would be heated. They would make love all night, enjoy each other's company in the morning and repeat the cycle on their honeymoon. Well, that was what my so called friends told me. They had been married to the love of their lives and were on their way to having children. _

_My honeymoon, however, could be described as cold as winter. The atmosphere could have frozen me to death. We didn't end up in each other's arms at night and in the morning we immersed ourselves in mountains of work so we wouldn't have to see each other. To outsiders, we were a rich, cold couple, and quite frankly, it was true._

Artemis continued reading, giving her full attention to the book. It wasn't a fiction, but a biography and it was very fulfilling. She didn't even notice she had missed lunch. Alma had to literally drag the book out of her hands to make sure she ate something.

"You are absolutely insane if you think I'm going to let you waste away while reading a book," she said.

"That doesn't seem half bad to me," Artemis shrugged and smiled.

"Yeah, well not under my watch," Alma gave her a small smile.

"Of course," Artemis began to eat.

~;~

"And where is this wonderful young woman you have been talking about?" Gyokuen questioned. She was very much interested in the woman her step son chose to marry. She didn't have time to see her sooner, but now she did.

"Why haven't you brought her to the meeting?" she then asked.

"She has her own business to take care of," Kouen stoically answered.

"Well, that's a shame," Gyokuen smiled. "I guess next time."

To everyone's surprise, she wasn't upset, or so it seemed.

The meeting proceeded rather smoothly from then on.

After the meeting Kouen was slightly annoyed. The rendezvous with Artemis had been postponed and that meant an opportunity to discover was also postponed. He decided he should go and see her to give her the details of the meeting. He thought she would definitely need to hear it.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, my exams are over! It feels like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. Thank you all for your well wishes. I feel so loved in this unloving world. I'm pretty sure I failed math. Okay, are you guys nervous about the next chapter?… I certainly am not, so you shouldn't be. Hehehe~ Also, I apologize for updating so late. Please forgive me. Oh, and the quote at the top was kind of cheesy, wasn't it. <strong>

**Besides these things, I noticed that when I typed in my Pseudonym, SugarIsMyDrug, other authors and people have the same name whether it be for Quotev or Instagram. Please note that these people are not me. I just wanted to point that out. :D**

_**Partygirl98: Thank you so much for the constructive review. I keep forgetting to go back and correct my mistakes… Oh well, I will most likely be able to change them as soon as possible… if I don't have a Christmas job. **_

_**xX-Nerdy Chick-Xx: Oh thank you! I am very happy you liked the chapter. It was kind of mind boggling to me, but not as much as this one. Anyway, I would love to bring the guard in again. **_

_**Almathia: I am very happy you approved of the last chapter. I aim to make my readers happy… somewhat.**_

_**Dianne0608070: Hahaha! The wedding isn't going to be anytime soon, I hope. Complicated stuff is going to occur. I will definitely consider your suggestion. Thank you for commenting!**_

_**Diclonious57: You have a point. It might be very awkward, but the wedding might not happen anytime soon… I have my secret reasons! Bwahaha! **_

_**Minchen0897: Thank you! I am glad I am not disappointing you thus far. **_

_**Sonata Fuling: It's good that you find my fiction interesting. It encourages me a lot. Continue to support me! Thank you so much! **_

_**ChokoAkashi: I sent you a PM. :D I love your Akashi fic BTW! It's very interesting.**_

_**Apte: Once again, your review had me getting nervous, feeling happy, cringing and feeling satisfied. Thank you for pointing out the character thingy. The thing is, though, I don't know how to bring his character out fully. Yes, I know, I should be ashamed, but I don't want to make a fool out of myself by trying and then making him OOC. **__** I tried a little in this chapter though… I think…. I don't know… Ahhh! I'm going to pull my hair out! Not your fault though. And don't worry. I make sure that I respond to each and every one of your reviews. They are very important to my confidence as a fanfic author. **_

_**SchokoDelphin: Yes! I am totally hyped up about the fic! I just don't have a lot of ideas yet. I will pull through though. I want to do one on Ayato… Idk how popular that would be. Actually, I started writing and had to delete it over and over and over again because I feel it isn't good enough. *Sigh***_

_**Mitsuyuki-Hime: Thank you for reviewing! Right now, I am not able to remember what you've said, but thank you. Usually I have the reviews in front of me when responding but I am typing my response to you on a different day and I don't have it in front of me. Anyway, thank you so much!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous._ - Ingrid Bergman

Kouen walked up to Artemis's room and knocked. He waited for the young woman to open her door.

"Good evening," she greeted with a small smile on her face.

"Good evening," he replied.

"Come in," she gestured and that, he did. "How was the meeting?"

"That was what I came to talk to you about," he began as he faced her. "I have arranged for you to meet my mother in two weeks. The wedding has to be in two months."

Artemis remained silent for a while. She needed to think. Did she really want to do this? She knew what would be required of her after marriage and she didn't love Kouen in that way… or at least she thought so.

"Alright, but I want to get something straight," she said, "Please don't expect me to give myself to you. I don't think most men would understand, but-

"I understand," he cut her off. "We share a platonic relationship."

"And it would most likely continue after this whole marriage thing," she added, carefully choosing her words.

Kouen spoke, but he didn't believe in his words whole heartedly. Why was it slightly disappointing him that she didn't think of him in a romantic light? He guessed it was that he was used to women offering themselves to him. It was weird to him that she still intended to keep camaraderie.

"I won't force you into anything," he continued, "But if anything were to happen, it would be of your own free will."

A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, but she tried to ignore it.

"Okay, could we go on the trip tomorrow?" she then asked.

"I will make arrangements," he answered and after, exited her room.

Artemis sighed. She could have sworn Kouen sounded a little colder towards her. Technically, you couldn't blame her for not 'wanting' Kouen in that way. Giving another sigh, she plopped on her bed and continued to read. The book was very enlightening so far. It was teaching her to appreciate life's circumstances. It was actually helping her get through this crazy arranged marriage.

~;~

Once again, she found herself preparing for the trip with Kouen. She threw her water bottle over her shoulders and after, pulled her light blue pony tail through the cap she was wearing. Her side bangs caressed the left side of her face.

"Ready," she nodded before walking out the door.

After eating breakfast with the maids, she visited Asriel before heading to Kouen's room. Luckily, she didn't have to go all the way there, as he met her halfway. She communicated with her eyes that she was ready. Kouen looked at her briefly before both begun walking towards where the horses would be.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"You don't always have to say that to me," he informed.

"Well, I give respect where respect is due," she simply answered.

Kouen did not respond. He simply helped her up her horse before hopping on to his.

"Okay, according to this map we should go-

"North," Kouen finished her statement.

"You read the map already, didn't you," she took a chance to glance over at him.

"To have a successful trip, it is necessary to know where you are going," he simply replied.

"Okay, since we know where we're going, why don't we have a little race?" she challenged. Somehow, she was feeling lucky today. "The first one there is the winner. The loser has to give the winner something."

"Anything?" this piqued Kouen's interests a bit.

"Sure, why not," she answered with a smug smirk. After answering, she propelled the horse forward. Kouen followed suit and both were neck on neck at some points and in front of the other at others.

The destination was in sight. It looked as if it was bombed with a thousand bombs. The architecture was crumbling and there was no sign of life. Artemis then realized what did this. War. On the other side, you could see green trees. That was probably the area that was untouched.

Distracted by her thoughts, she noticed that she lagged behind. Kouen sped in front of her and inevitably won. He waited for her to reach.

"Alright, you won. What do you want?" she unenthusiastically asked.

"That will come later," he answered.

Her line of sight then travelled to what was before them.

"Let's get going," Kouen said.

To get a better ground view, the two decided to travel by foot for a while.

There was hardly anything to see. The place was empty.

"The city was burned down a few years back. Luckily, everyone evacuated in time," Kouen enlightened Artemis on the story behind the village.

"Oh," Artemis ran her hands along the chipped walls.

They walked in killer silence after that. Artemis mentally took pictures of what she had seen. She occasionally glanced at Kouen who looked as though he was studying the bricks. However, she knew it wasn't so. He was probably trying to ignore her as much as possible. She didn't get the reason.

They reached the green area of trees, but this did not mean that their trip was over. The ruins were only the first half.

"We'll go on horse for this part," he said, looking at what was before them.

Artemis could only nod and follow the leader. They rode deeper into the forest looking area. It was just how Artemis had pictured it would be from just looking at the outside. The area was woody and many animals chirped and hopped about. This sent chills down her spine. She grew up on a farm but couldn't stand foreign animals and dogs. A few more moments of riding and they were approaching a small waterfall. It flowed down into a small lake. Artemis 'wowed' as she looked at the scenery. The thought of being attacked by a bunch of wild dogs flew out the window as she observed what was before her. Kouen glanced at the gaping woman and couldn't help but speak.

"You've never seen a waterfall?" he questioned as he hopped off his horse.

"Artificial ones," she replied. "These are way prettier."

"I agree," he responded and led both their horses to the water. After making sure the horses were alright, he began peeling away his layered clothing until he was only in a pair of shorts.

Artemis, who had been busy following a trail of ants, only noticed this when she turned her attention towards the horses. Her face didn't redden as Kouen thought it would. Instead, she hid behind the horses and stripped as well. She walked towards the water dressed in a pair of baggy shorts and a loose white T shirt. Kouen had expected that. He watched her wiggle her toes in the water before going deeper. He marveled at her ability to make him want her even more without trying.

"How does the water feel to you?" she asked when she planted herself fully in the lake. The two were more or less near each other.

"Its fine," he simply answered. Artemis wasn't completely satisfied with the way he answered and she was completely convinced he was upset with her. Wait… Why was she concerned about whether or not he was upset with her? Ever since she started working for the palace, she'd become nicer. She guessed that having friends did that to you. Back then, she only had one friend. His name was Rohan. They went to Magnostad together and both turned out to be successful magicians. That was until he met his demise at the hands of black ruhk users who were obsessed with war. Ever since, she suffered from extreme depression for a while and never got around to making friends. When she had first met Kouen, she didn't hesitate to tell him what she had on her mind… royalty or not. Now, she learned to appreciate things, but the old part of her would never die.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked. She tried to tread carefully.

Kouen was taken aback by the question. He turned to face her fully and that was when the sight of his abs attacked her. If she wasn't so self-composed, she would have suffered from a nose bleed. The heavens really knew what they were doing when they made him.

"No," he answered, "What makes you think that?"

He caught her glancing at his abs. At that moment, he was reassured that she really was a human woman. Before, he was convinced that she was some sort of woman from the outer world.

"You just don't talk as much. I don't know why I thought that," she shook her head. "I guess I thought you were a bit more withdrawn."

The two then began chatting about how the front lines were advancing and about the productivity of the hospitals in Kou.

That was when she realized she didn't take off her hat. Quickly, she pulled it off her head and her hair tie came with it. Her blue hair spilled all over. She was then reminded of how much she hated her hair. It was now more than ever. Kouen watched her battle with her hair.

"Give this a few minutes and it's going to be all over my face," she tried to rake a hand through her unruly hair.

This was slightly amusing to the First Prince of Kou. Her wild hair attracted him slightly.

'I'm sorry, I must look like a complete mess right now," she continued to untangle her hair. Kouen used this opportunity to wade closer to her. When he was close enough, he did the unexpected. Pulling her closer by the waist, he kissed her. He didn't even bother to remove the hair from her face. Artemis didn't see Kouen approach, as she was busy with her hair, and when his lips connected with hers, she hesitated… a lot. She didn't push him away, though. The kissing began to get deeper as she allowed herself to get used to the peculiar art. Something then clicked in her brain. She stopped moving her lips and slightly pushed him away. Kouen got the message immediately and backed off. He had never expected it to last that long and he had never expected it to feel so exhilarating.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before heading towards her horse. "I can't do this." Artemis picked up her clothing and quickly put them on.

Kouen didn't make a move to stop her. She had every right to be upset. He made up his mind that he wasn't going to apologize, however. That move was calculated and it felt too good to be a sin in his eyes. As he dressed, he thought about the turnout of events. He knew she wanted to kiss him. If she didn't, she would have shoved him off the second he held her. Then why was she upset? Puzzling thoughts buzzed in his mind as he made his way back. Along the way, he made the decision to stay clear from her for a while. It was probably best for both of them.

~;~

He locked himself in his office and decided to immerse himself in historic study. It was a valid way to take his mind off things. Why was this unnerving him so much? He was scheduled to meet the front lines and assist them. That meant more time to clear his mind. Meanwhile, Artemis lay faced up on her bed and tried to allow sleep to take her. Today was confusing, but at the same time, it revealed to her many things. It was a pretty good day, but very unsettling. Rolling over on her side, she took out her journal and documented the day's occurrences. After, she continued reading the book she had borrowed. She had decided to read it slowly for it was too enlightening to skim through. That certainly got her mind off of things. Sleep didn't come that easy.

~;~

The next day, she was told that Kouen left. She wasn't disappointed, but she had been meaning to tell him how she felt about the trip. She didn't know when he'd be back, so she decided to visit live war sites. There was a high chance she could get killed, but this could be a very vivid learning experience for her.

* * *

><p><strong>Did you guys like the fluff. I hope so, because that had me going nuts! I didn't want it to be too detailed and I didn't want it to be too boring. I think it's a little on the boring side, but such is life when you rate your story T. Anyway, I really appreciate all those people who chose to followfavorite my story. Muchas gracias mis amigos. Espero que tu continuas amor mi ficcion. **

**For those of you, who are Spanish, please don't criticize my grammar. It's awful, I know, but bear with it. I had a Spanish oral today and I am in the Spanish mood. For those of you who have no idea what I just typed, here: **_**Many thanks, my friends. I hope that you continue to love my fiction.**_

**Guest( I'm guessing this is Apte?) : I really don't know how to write a distressed Kouen. What I do know is that later in the story, he's going to have to be distressed. I'm not telling why, though. Hehehe! Anyway, I am very glad you think my story is improving and has improved so far. It makes me so excited! Hope this chapter wasn't a letdown. **

**Dianne060807: I understand the disappointment. I want them to get married A.S.A.P. too. That's why I put it in two months, but I still have my plans.. *Evil Luaghter***

**SchokoDelphin: Upon first glancing at your review, I felt so scared~` Then I broke into laughter and then it died down to smiling and nodding. Artemis's 'mother' is going to play an important part in the end. See, I gave you a sort of sneak peak. Anyway, thank you for congratulating me on finishing my exams.**

**Partygirl98: That's alright, message me. As for your vacation, I'm guessing you had a really good time. That's great! Hope you caught up already. **

**Mitsuyuki-Hime: I'm not really planning anything super evil for that meeting. Actually, I haven't planned anything yet. I guess I need to start! :D**

**xX-Nerdy ChickXx- Good luck on your exams! They can be very pressuring. I'd think twice before I say it's her mom… who knows? It might be something else. Hahaha! The torture of not knowing! **

**Diclonious57: Yes! Secret :D **

**Minchen0897: Thanks for the encouragement! :D**

**PurpleLovingCutePineappleDork: I'm so glad you love it. Speaking of loving, I love your name. Hehehe~ I'm happy you found my fic too! :D**


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